BMW F10/F11: Clogged/blocked Washer Pump Filter - EASY FIX / FILTER REMOVAL! [E90/E92/F07/F30 etc.]

Windscreen washer jets not working, but the pump can still be heard OK? Then you have a very common case of clogged filter. Due to the supposed inaccessibility of the bottle on later model BMWs I have read stories of high dealer bills, daunting inner-wing removal and even back-feeding the washer-hose with bleach to gradually unblock the gunged up filter... but before you try this read on, as it is an easy fix after all.

GUIDE:

1. Fully turn the steering to the right to give access behind the driver's front wheel to work. [Removing the wheel will give more access but is not necessary.]

2. Remove the 6 screws holding securing the rear half of the felt wheel-arch liner in place using an 8mm socket. This will allow access without removing the arch-liner completely. Four of the screws are located in the wheel well itself and two are located underneath next to the sill.

3. Remove the plastic 'mud-guard' trim on the outside of the wheel-arch that adjoins the felt arch-liner. This is done by pressing the centre-pin of the 3 plastic clips through the clip and then removing the clips with a panel-popper tool. [It may be possible to do the job without removing this trim piece, as the clips are very hard to get out and prone to breaking, but visibility and access are certainly improved].

4. Peel the felt wheel-arch liner out from the rear lip of the wheel-arch and if possible tuck it behind the wheel. The washer-bottle should now be visible to the rear of the front wheel. It sits in a tight gap between the outer and inner wings of the car body itself and access is very limited. [This is unlike E39, E60 etc. where the bottle sits left-to-right across the rear of the wheel-arch and access if much easier!]

5. Remove the windscreen washer hose from where it enters the pump and move it out of the way.

6. Slide a long flat-screwdriver in between the washer-bottle and the outer wing and prize the pump upwards until the spout is clear of the bottle and the pump can wedged up and out of the way.

7. The clogged filter should now be sitting in the washer-bottle where the spout of the pump fits. Use the flat-screwdriver to prize the filter up and out of the bottle. It should now be removable by hand or using long-nose pliers / tweezers.

8. Clean the gauze filter using water and lightly brush it with a sponge-scourer or stiff brush. [I find an old toothbrush works perfectly.] It is likely clogged with a 'gel' like substance that builds up supposedly due to the use of incorrect washer-fluid as well as dirt from the bottom of the tank if the washer has been run without fluid in for a while, but should clean up pretty easily.

9. Carefully slot the filter back into the washer-bottle and press it back into place using long-nose pliers / flat screwdriver or both, making sure it is fully seated.

10. Slide the pump spout back into the filter / washer-bottle, making sure it is fully seated and rotated to the correct position with the spout for the windscreen-hose pointing to the side of the car.

11. Refit the washer-hose, trim, wheel-arch liner and wheel. [Reverse steps 1-5.]


www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=930107
http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=737416
http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/120732-f10-windscreen-washer-not-working/
http://forum.bmw5.co.uk/topic/124943-f10-washer-problems/

E60: Blocked Washer-Pump - Quick Fix.

No water from windscreen washer-jets? Chances are it's a blockage in the pump filter. This is not a difficult job, rather a very easy one, so avoid unnecessary cost and fix it quickly yourself.

Check Fuse: 
Fuse 18 is the corresponding fuse. If the washer pump is dead and making no noise then this is the first thing to check. If it is still making a whining noise, then you have a blocked pump-filter.

** The headlamp washer system only functions when the headlights / sidelights are turned on. **

FIX:

Windscreen Washer System:

** The washer bottle is located just in front of the N/S (passenger) wheel-arch liner. The filler-neck is just behind the N/S headlamp and you can see the hose go down into the bodywork and rise up to where the tank is. The tank CANNOT be accessed from above, even when the headlamp is removed. It is much easier to peel the arch-liner back and work from inside the wheel-arch. **

** Obviously water will spill out of the washer bottle so just allow it to drain. **

1. Remove the 3 screws from the N/S/F plastic wheel-arch liner circled in the photo so that it can be peeled back out of the arch rim, one on the near edge, one along the bottom and one by the brake air-duct. It helps to turn the wheel full-lock one way or the other to give more room.

2. Gently pull the washer-jet hose connector off the spout on the side of the windscreen washer-pump. [It's the smaller grey one, furthest away in photo].

3. Reach in and grip the windscreen washer-pump, then gently turn it from side to side while lifting it upwards until the spout on the pump is free of the tank [it may need tilting towards the wheel to get out].

4. Unplug the wire-connector from the pump by depressing the clip on either side and sliding it upwards. The pump can now be removed from inspection if necessary. [Alternatively, leave the wiring connected and place the pump somewhere out of the way].

5. Gently prise the rubber base the pump sits in upwards out of it's collar in the tank, being careful not to detach the plastic-filter from below it and have it drop into the tank.

6. Remove the white plastic filter from the rubber piece and give it a good clean. [It's usually congealed screen-wash clogging it as in the photo, rather than detritus].

7. Refit the plastic filter to the bottom of the rubber base and carefully lower it vertically back into the tank.

8. Refit the pump as a reversal of steps 4 to 1.

Sticky residue wrapped right around the filter-gauze
had stopped flow into the pump completely.

Headlamp Washer System:
The process is the same for the larger headlamp washer pump, though the hose-connector at the bottom in the second photo is sturdier and needs the clip pushing up from undernath to slide the hose off.

Headlamp washer has a much bigger filter, I guess to get more
water into the bigger pump and higher pressure spray.

E60: Replacing headlight-washer caps / hinges!

Despite how it looks, you can't replace them with the bumper on. This is best done while the whole front bumper is off the car, but thesis the quick and dirty method, of course.

1. Lift each cap out of the bumper on the hinge and remove them by depressing the clips at the back and sliding the lugs out of the hinge.

2. Remove the screw holding each corner of the bumper to the wing using a 10mm wrench.

3. Pop the corner out of the wing and bend it out enough to reach behind the headlight-washer cap.

4. Remove the hinge / lever by bending one side out and unhooking it from the outer lugs, the other side should then come away easily.

5. Remove the spring by squeezing the coils towards each other and unhooking them from the inner lugs.

6. Fit the new spring as a reverse of removal.

7. Lift the spring up forwards and fit the new hinge / lever as a reverse of removal, then release the spring ensuring it is tight against the flat-bar on the hinge.

8. Refit each corner of the bumper.

9. Lift the hinges / levers out of the bumper and fit the caps.

New trim pieces for M-Sport bumper + painting!

As my bumper didn't come with the cover-caps or hinges, I had to source them separately. I got the headlight-washer hinges directly from BMW Parts [Williams, Liverpool] and they were only £2.70 each inc. VAT. BMW are good for clips and random bits, but trim pieces are a bit more expensive, especially if you have them painted in your colour-code.

I turned to eBay, but was surprised to find used pieces are thin on the ground and no silver ones coming up. New, the headlight-washer caps start at £16 each and go up, plus delivery, so a pair of genuine ones for £30 delivered actually seemed reasonable. These came from MM Autos [eBay ID: adrian5882745], the same place in Wrexham I got the bumper, but I checked and the silver caps from mine are long sold! The tow-hook caps start at £25 for a new one and again no used ones in silver, so I recommend buying from a seller on eBay Germany called bmdoubleyou24. A new genuine one in primer is £18 delivered and only took 5 days to arrive so was worth the saving.

£70 worth of plastic. Headlight-washer caps, hinges and tow-hook cap, only the essentials.

Finally, I bought a can of Titansilver (or Titanium Silver, same paint-code) spray from Halfords, along with a fresh can of clear-lacquer, £6.49 each. After giving the caps about six coats of both, I gave them a good rub with T-cut so they look OE, though I have a feeling they will look a lot shinier than the bumper. I will have to get polishing and sort those scratches...

M-Sport Bumper Total Cost:
Bumper - £200
Hinges - £5.40
Washer-caps - £30
Tow-hook Cap - £18.11
Paint/lacquer - £12.98
TOTAL - £266.49

Pre-primed ABS-plastic is a piece of cake to paint and was going great...

...until it rained and spotted the lacquer...

...so needed a bit of flatting back...

...and repainting, followed by a quick blast with rubbing-compound.

New 'M-Paket' hinges do indeed need the corner of the bumper pulling out to fit, they can't be done from outside.

E21 316: Re-Spray Strip-Down 3 - Wipers + Washer Nozzle Removal.

A. Washer-Jet Nozzles:

1. Twist and pull the hose off from below the washer-nozzles.

2. The nozzles have a plastic at the base that spreads when they're pushed into the body, so working them out is pretty easy by pressing the flaps in with your finger one at a time.

B. Windscreen Wiper-Arms + Bases:

1. Lift the cap at each wiper-arm base and, using an adjustable-spanner, remove the top-nut and washer.

2. Raise the wiper-arm to an upright position and wiggle it off the spline.

3. Remove the large diameter nut and washer from the base-mount and remove the mount. *The rubber seal will likely be perished and hard to find a replacement, but you can just cut a new one out of sheet-rubber as I did, or I will supply a set for £1.99 inc. postage to mainland UK - see here.

E39: Replacing / Unclogging the Washer-Jet Pump

If you think your pump is faulty then check this post first - Windscreen Washer-Jet System Problem.

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Removing the pump is easy, but getting to it is quite involved due to the amount of under-car panelling the E39 has.

PROCESS:

1. Jack up the o/s front of the car and detach the plastic mud-guard by removing the 3 hex-head screws that hold it to the wheel-arch. using a 7mm wrench.

2. Lift off the plastic under-tray that sits to the rear of the wheel-arch by removing the 5 plastic-studs around its edge. If you lack a took for pulling out this kind of stud then lever the head of the centre-pin out a few mm with a flathead screwdriver and then slide it clear with pliers. The body of the stud should now slide out easily.

* The car may need lowering to remove the under-tray and re-lifting, as the jacking-point lies in the centre of it.

3. Remove the 7 hex-head screws around the inside of the wheel-arch. as well as two at the leading edge of the under-tray, unseat the inner wheel-arch from around the lip of the wheel-arch itself and pull the plastic inner-arch down out of the way.

* The water-tank for the windscreen and headlight washer-system is located just behind the wheel-arch, below the front of the driver's door. Not the Intensive cleaning-system, which has both the tank and pump under the bonnet.

4. Unplug the wire-connector from the pump in centre of the tank**, by sliding a flat screwdriver into the clip and lifting it upwards.

5. Pull the slim hose-connector clear of the central pump** and allow the tank to drain.

This is a good point to test the washer system one last time to make sure it isn't a blocked hose and the pump is getting no water.

6. Gently twist and pull the pump upwards about an inch out of its mount, then remove the black rubber-bush it sits in.

7. Flush the tank several times by pouring water into the filler-nozzle under the bonnet and allowing it to drain through and clean around the lip of the pump-mount. Check the pump for clogging.

8. Replace the rubber-bush to the tank and, using the new pump if necessary, reverse the procedure.

** The pump in the centre of the tank with the slim hose is for the windscreen washers. The left-hand pump with the larger hose is for the headlight washers.

*** The black connector on the inner corner of the tank is the level-indicator probe. This is also a push fit and the best place to drain from, after removing the wire-connector as above.

E39: Windscreen Washer-Jet System Problems

Replacing / Unblocking the Pump - How to Guide: http://www.planet5.co.cc/2011/10/replacing-unclogging-washer-jet-pump.html

I've had a couple of minor faults with the windscreen/headlamp washer jet and they look like they could be common to most E39 models.

1. Disconnected/Broken Nozzle Hose:

Fault Finding: One washer-nozzle is not working at all / only emitting a tiny amount of water, while the other remains functional.

The hoses for the windscreen-washer run up the offside bonnet-hinge and along the back of the bonnet to reach the nozzels. Due to the constrictive nature of the plastic crimp-clips used to hold them in place, the hoses can be stressed while the bonnet is repeatedly opened and shut. This will most likely cause the plastic-connector to become unplugged from the nozzle [as with my car] so it's just a case of snapping the two connectors back together. The hoses could also be caused to split, so if the connectors are still in place then operate the system and check for leaks along the hose. You will probably need a replacement hose if it is split, unless it is near enough to the nozzle to chop off the split section and reseat it. If there is no leak then it is likely that the hose has been crimped shut, so check each plastic crimp-clip attaching it to the bodywork and adjust it so there's no restriction.

If you suspect you have this problem then check it over as soon as possible as there will be water/screenwash pouring down the back of the engine every time you use the washer system!!

2. Blocked / Faulty In-Tank Pump:

Fault finding: Both wash-jets are not emitting water, or emitting a small amount of water then stopping. No sound can be heard from the washer-jet pump, or the pump is very loud and appears to be struggling to get water through.

If there is no sound from the washers then, if the fuse hasn't blown, its likely the pump is dead and needs replacing. If the pump appears to be struggling but not pumping water then first unclip the hose at the join located under the bonnet, half way down the lip of the driver's wing and try the washers. If water isn't getting this far then a blocked hose/nozzle can be ruled out and the pump will need removing and replacing to unblock.