E46 Windshield Washer Pump DIY

Originally Posted by almoula

New Problem: next day the tank was full and no leaks whatsoever. But when every I told my girlfriend to press the lever to get the pump going I hear the pump working but no water is coming out. So after chewing on the problem for little while I remembered (being an engineer and all) that air must have gotten into the pump and cavitation is occurring. What happens is water is sucked in but cannot leave or it leaves very slowly due to the existing of air bubbles that the pump is spinning instead of water so need to clear this problem.

Solution: while the pump is attached to a full tank and all electrical wiring is attached unhook the hose from the pump line (you know the hose that connects the cars windshield washer to the pump) insert a hose of similar dimension and have it pointing away from the engine tell a friend or preferably a girlfriend to pull the lever to get the pump going. At first pressure will be little and little water will come out but after a second the waster bubbles will come out along with a strong jet of water, now you have no water bubble that can cause cavation. Carefully unplug the hose from the pump. Place your hands on the pump hole then put the cars windshield washer line quickly into the pump. And you are done. Everything should work.

Now you might ask now wait why not just connect the cars line in the first place and just press the lever to get the pump going, you would think that I the pump will take water from the tank and expel the bubbles through the washer jets, but actually the pressure restriction inside the hose of the car is much greater than the pump can overcome ( this only true when water bubbles are present ) so that's why you had to do the separate hose to allow for true atmospheric pressure to help the pump expel the bubbles and operate at pristine order.

First time poster here, so forgive me if I do any of this wrong. I seem to have the same problem as described here. My washer fluid tank is full (and has been for the three years Ive owned the car -- 2000 323i) and the fuses are all good. Yes, I finally decided to figure out how to fix this midly annoying problem after three years! Anyway, when i pull the lever, i hear the hum of what I assume is the pump, but nothing comes out. Rather than trying to fix a potential cavitation problem, will simply replacing the pump solve the problem?

Or, can I solve the cavitation problem by simply removing the hose and pulling the lever until the air bubbles come out of the pump directly? In other words, if i dont have a similar hose to attach, can the cavitation be fixed without one?

Great thread by the way.

Just wanted to say thanks for posting the DIY. Saved me mucho bucks! Just signed up for the site because it has been helpful so many times and wanted to be apart.

Originally Posted by WAM

Procedure to change the windshield washer tank or pump on an E46.

Tools needed: 10mm spanner (in toolkit), small-medium flat blade screwdriver

Undo the 10mm nut, highlighted in the red circle. This is the only fastener holding down the washer tank. Lift the tank up about 4", allowing you to unclip the black plastic heatshield around the washer pump. This is where you need the screwdriver, to lift the securing tab from the washer tank (yellow circle). You can actually pull out the complete washer pump from the tank. Just gently pull up, it is a friction fit.

Now unclip the washer level sensor plug (green circle). This clip is a little difficult to figure out. I pulled it hard and it came off. Taking a closer look at it once it was off, I couldn't quite see how to unclip it from its securing catch.

At this point you have removed the washer tank. The two tabs at the bottom of the tank fit into recesses in the body work, in order to secure the tank. There is a filter screen in the tank, where the washer pump plugs into the tank (blue circle). Just pry this up with a screwdriver to remove it. I had bought a new one, just in case. You can see the fluid level sensor socket on the left side of the tank in this pic.

Now unclip the pump connector from the pump. Pinch the tab at the top of the connector. This will unclip the connector from the securing tab. Pull out the water hose from the nozzle on the pump

Replace the pump filter screen into the tank, if necessary. Plug in the new washer pump into the filter screen. Connect the water hose back onto the pump.

Position the washer tank into its approximate location and clip the sensor for the fluid level back into its socket on the tank.

Secure the heatshield back onto the tank.

Now position the washer tank into its secured position and fill with a little water, in order to test the pump out. Fasten the 10mm screw back into the plug.

Originally Posted by 323i-drive

Thanks for the DIY! Got it for $13 at the local Auto Zone in Denver and didn't get through a Coors Original before it was working. If you get the TAAP Corp part from Auto Zone the blue/yellow stripe wire from the new motor connects to the black ground wire of the e46 harness. That level sensor does seem to have a small compression tab pointing up that I hit with a plier and it came right off. Also, if you don't feel like washing the garage floor try to siphon the washer reservoir first. When pulling that motor pull up and push towards the engine and it will come out faster. I lost a liter or more of "blood" before I get the offending organ out.

Hey guys, just a note to say thank you and to introduce myself.

I recently bought a black/black '03 325i that I love in and out except the windshield wiper washer pump was inop. With your help it ony took me 5 minutes to replace it with a great working Autozone washer pump.

And saved me money as well. All I had to do was clean the tank, which was full of limescale and blocking the filter. Now it works like new. Thank you!!!

Is the grommet included in the dealer part or siemens washer pump? All the place I gone to online shows the grommet can be purchased seperately ...

this site is wonderful!
thank you so much for this post..you guys saved me hundreds of dollars!
bless you guys!

Thanks
I bought the pump form ebay. took about 8 day from US to NZ
Put in the pump, did not work at first, and I recall in the replies you need to take out the air pockets
once air pockets removed... pump working as new... saved 50% (including the postage paid) of the retail price in NZ

Great post guys, thank you. Just had the same problem, BMW quoted up over 200.00 got the part recommended for 12.99. Thanks again.

B/c you guys helped out so much, I will throw in a tip or so.
********secret of not draining washer fluid************ my reservoir tank was full, and I got to reuse them all.
here's how.
First take off sensor in the bottom (towards the car).
take off electric connection to the pump.
when you undo the line that is attached to the pump, put your fingers there. Then, lift up the whole reservior tank, empty washer fluid into a bucket.

Thanks for the info people. Just bought a used bimmer and this was the first thing I noticed that wasn't working. $23 later I'm squirting washer fluid everywhere...now I just need to aim them suckers.

Originally Posted by fchen83

Thanks for the info people. Just bought a used bimmer and this was the first thing I noticed that wasn't working. $23 later I'm squirting washer fluid everywhere...now I just need to aim them suckers.

23 dollars later? what do you mean? did you get the genuine part instead of autozone one?

Just replaced mines 10 minutes, follow the pictures from the first post and it was a piece of cake. Ordered the siemens washer pump and new grommet from partsgeek.com Can't believe I was driving around for almost a whole year with a defective washer pump ....

I made a gasket and jammed it into the little sqaure opening at the bottom of the pump and the leak stopped... Will clogging that opening cause any problems?

Originally Posted by bmw330pp

I made a gasket and jammed it into the little sqaure opening at the bottom of the pump and the leak stopped... Will clogging that opening cause any problems?

My washer pump started leaking from the weep[square] hole yesterday. It is the second time to have this problem. I replaced the first one from dealer in 2007 and costed me $57. How's your self made gasket, is it still working after a month?

Originally Posted by 325i M-sport II

My washer pump started leaking from the weep[square] hole yesterday. It is the second time to have this problem. I replaced the first one from dealer in 2007 and costed me $57. How's your self made gasket, is it still working after a month?

Yeah, I've used the washers and they work fine...

Originally Posted by bmw330pp

Yeah, I've used the washers and they work fine...

Thanks and I will do the same to clogging the weet hole by a gasket. It's not worth to replace the pump as it works fine (but just leaking from the weet hole).

Not being much of a DIY'er, the pictures, illustrations, helped greatly. Start to finish time 1 hour. Only mistake I think I made, was purchasing the pump and strainer from the dealership for around $60.00. Hopefully I saved that much on labor.

Cut out the original connector for better connection. I tried using the connectors provided with the Autozone pump and they don't provide good enough connections.

Another "thank you" for this writeup. I bought my pump on Ebay for $20 (inc shipping and tax). The seller was deutschepartsusa (deutschepartsusa@gmail.com). My car has the CWP, so there is another pump in the front of the reservoir (by the headlamp). Make sure you change the correct one! In retrospect, I could have swapped the two pumps as I disconnected the headlamp washers soon after I bought the car -- I did not like all of that fluid spraying over the hood.

About as easy as they come, but thanks for the write up. Saves a bit of time figuring it out.

Unfortunately, it didn't fix my problem. I replaced the pump, but still have no fluid. Checking the pump connector with a voltmeter shows ~9V regardless of whether the key is on, or the wiper stick depressed.

I've checked all the fuses that look anything related (at least according to the labels) and they are all ok. This all started with taking it to the dealer for something unrelated (burnt out the tranny) and of course, while it was there, they go over everything. It was noted as a leak in the windshield washer pump. Then the next time it rained, I went to clean the windshield and no fluid. After reading here and elsewhere, it seems that it is not unusual for the pump to fail once it starts leaking. No bigger, ordered the pump and replaced it this evening. No dice. RealOEM isn't very good for troubleshooting electrical problems so I am at something of a loss where to go next.

Any suggestions?

*ninja edit* I found another thread detailing almost my exact symptoms: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthr...1#post10762760

Another big THANK YOU. My pump failed and I was given an estimate of $110 to replace it. Heading to Autozone now to spend less than $20!

Originally Posted by mtnbound

Another big THANK YOU. My pump failed and I was given an estimate of $110 to replace it. Heading to Autozone now to spend less than $20!

It's even easier if you get an OEM pump off ebay -- no cutting of electrical connectors.

I just bought a used 325CIC and found that the wiper solution is not working. I got the usual response from the Dealer, "I'm with a customer, can I call you back?" What a DB, a week later and I will be going to ebay and picking up a pump. Great write up, I'll have to brave the 35 degree weather and get this thing running. Will I lose all the fluid that is in the tank?

Installed the ebay motor in about ten minutes including testing, wiping the area clean and installing new wiper blades. I had a bucket next to the vehicle and emptied the tank when I pulled it out and recycled the solution.

A few of you commented on the fact that the Autozone pump did not have as much pressure and you took it out. The same has happened to me--it seems to work but it certainly doesn't shoot the water as high up on the windshield and a lot ends up on the hood.

If I want to take this out and return it and get an original part. But using those scotch locks on the wires--can I just take these off or am I going to have to cut the wires and reconnect them to the original connector?

For those of you that the Autozone pump worked--did you not have the pressure problem?

Thanks!