[Nickanna]

I did a search and couldn’t find a DIY on cleaning the washer pump filter (windscreen washer filter for the mates in the UK). There were several threads on the topic and complaints on what the dealer charges to do this work, so… Since the DIYs on here have saved me several times, this is my way of paying the community back. I hope you find it useful. (printable PDF attached)

My ride (dirty, I know ): 2008 328i E90 – It should be the same for most models (E9x). Those with the headlamp washer or an E91 will have an extra pump (or two) attached to the reservoir tank.

Tools Needed:
-10mm socket
-5/16 nut driver
-Small nail or small eyeglass Philips head screwdriver (used to remove expanding rivets) Most likely you will need to replace these due to losing the center pin (Part# 51-16-1-881-149) .27c each at the dealer.
-Catch basin
-Jack & Jack stand
-17mm socket / breaker bar for wheel removal / Torque wrench for re-install @ 88ft/lbs (Spec taken from a Bimmerfest.com post)

Let's get started!

1. Remove the passenger side front wheel

2. (Fig. 1) Remove the two 5/16 screws at the top of the wheel well.

3. (Fig. 2) Remove the 5/16 screw (red arrow) and the nut (10mm – Purple arrow)

4. (Fig. 2) Remove expanding rivets (green arrows) by pushing the center pin in. I used a small eyeglass Philips screwdriver and they popped right out.

5. Now looking under the car (Fig. 3) Remove the #10 torx screw, 10mm nut and 5/16 screw.

6. Still under the car (Fig. 4) look slightly to your right and remove the remaining 3 5/16 screws on the small corner plastic cover and remove.

7. Once the small plastic cover is removed (Fig. 5) Remove the last two 10mm nuts on the bottom of the large plastic cover and remove. (It may take a little bending, but the shroud will come out with minimal effort.)

8. (Fig. 6) Remove the 10mm bolt holding in the washer reservoir. (Don’t try to pull it out yet)

9. (Fig. 7) Look to the 12:00 position in the wheel well. Slightly pull down on the tip of the tank and push up on the existing plastic shroud to free that end of the tank.

10. At this point, I emptied the remains of the tank by SLOWLY removing the filler tube (Fig. 8). This will make removal easier and prevent fluid from getting everywhere once the pump is removed.

11. Once the tank is empty; pull the reservoir tank out (There’s no need to remove the electrical wires attached to the tank – They will flex during removal) and carefully remove the electrical connection on top of the pump, then the pump itself (careful not to lose the filter tip you’re trying to clean. It will come off if you tilt the pump too far during removal. (Fig.9)

12. (Fig. 10) My research proved to be correct. The RainX seems to have caused the gummy substance on the end of the filter.

13. (Fig. 11)Clean and reinstall the filter on the end of the washer pump. Be sure to push it all the way on. You’ll get a little resistance, but it will go on. (And yes, the picture shows a bucket of dirty liquid. NO that was not just my washer fluid; there was dirt in the bucket that mixed with it )

14. Reinstall the pump, attach the electrical connection and slide the reservoir tank back into the fender making sure to align the tab on the tank with the hole in the back of the fender (Fig. 12).

15. Fill the tank (I used BMW washer concentrate this time (Last Pic in the series) Your mixture will vary depending on region. Reinstall all the plastic shrouds, wheel and you are DONE. Works great now!

16. I replaced the 3 plastic expansion rivets (Part# 51-16-1-881-149) (.27 cents/ea) and purchased the washer concentrate at the same time (Part# 83-19-2-221-702 - $3.79)

Disclaimer: (Hate that I have to do this) Use this DIY at your own risk, I accept no responsibility for damage you cause to your car or another person’s car you may be working on.

[Efthreeoh]

Great DIY, thanks for posting. So your comment about losing the filter got me thinking it's probably replaceable. It is. Here are the realOEM pics and P/Ns for the washer tank. Hope this helps out anyone doing this work. Item 5 or Item 9 are the two different filters depending if the car has headlight washers or not.

[Zazhar101]

this is my issue..!!! awesome i have fluid and i can hear the pumps.. but dry windshield...

[Mr. Vapor]

came back on here for the first time in several years...for this.

thanks again for posting.

[MooLard]

Excellent write up, I just did this tonight, in the dark, with a bike torch! I removed the reservoir completely in order to give it a hot water rinse out, plus I lost one of the filters inside and had to recover that.

[fleetfoot]

This was a great DIY. After 10 years of ownership of my 2013 E92, I finally refilled my washer fluid a couple weeks ago, which apparently led to a bunch of the tank slime getting swirled up and clogging the sprayer pump filter. I followed this DIY, and got it cleaned up nicely. A few notes:

1) When I removed the filler hose, there was a FLOOD of fluid from the hose and the tank itself. This was impossible to catch because the streams were shooting opposite directions. Plan on making a mess.
2) My filter was completely clogged, so definitely start by cleaning that.
3) I had a TON of slime floating in the tank itself. It took multiple flushes with hot water and vigorous shaking to get it all out. I would highly recommend this step so your nice clean filter doesn't get clogged back up again.
4) I'd also recommend wiping out the bottom of the filler tube with a rag as there were quite a bit of slime there too.
5) I removed the cabin air filter to access the hoses near the sprayer nozzles. I blew these out with an air compressor, but there didn't seem to be any slime this far up. The filter in the tank seems to be doing its job.
6) The black tape holding the wiring for my pump and side indicator wasn't sticky anymore. I reused the old tape, and then wrapped it once with some duct tape so it would stay put.

[TheDustyLamp]

Reviving this to say thank you. I suspected a dirty filter and happened across your post. Finished in one hour with minimal mess thanks to having a siphon and 3/8 impact.