[Heli]

Having found this forum when trying to find a solution to this very problem, I thought that the least that I could do would be to post some photos to help the next poor soul trying to get their washers to work properly!

Take off all the wheel arch lining: PITA, but the only way!



The reservoir, neatly hidden away:



When removing it, a bucket to catch the water's a Good Idea! Remove all the wiring plugs along the way, but also watch for the indicator, which sits in a recess in the reservoir, plus the indicator wiring is part of the loom:





Getting the pumps out is pretty self explanatory: this was the sludge causing the problems





Put it all back, check the pumps before you secure the reservoir! Feed the wiring for the indicator through the wing early on in the exercise, too:



Actual cleaning of the reservoir is difficult: lots of hot water, swill around as much as possible, get the sludge out of the lowest pump hole and then drain through the top (overflow) outlet. Mine has only had Porsche cleaner additive, so I have no idea what created such a gross slime in the tank: but the procedure was made a lot easier by the info from this forum.

Thanks

[zltm089]

Thank you for posting!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chuckee98]

Question for those who have had this issue: just a thought, do you mix distilled water or tap water with the screen wash additive?

[jjbirch]

is this the same for a E90 then

[zltm089]

Originally Posted by chuckee98

Question for those who have had this issue: just a thought, do you mix distilled water or tap water with the screen wash additive?

Not sure if thats what caused it, but I used the halfords screenwash....

[kaishang]

Those photos

I'm glad I just stocked up on BMW screenwash.

[beemerbird]

Excellent write up and pics!

Personally I think it's a design flaw as using any manufacturers screen wash shouldn't affect BMW's alone surely, I bet they're all made by the same supplier and packaged with the appropriate labels on. That said I only ever used halfords stuff in my beemers and never had a problem so who knows.

My washer bottle is inside the wing on this car so we'll see if that blocks up or not over time.

[chuckee98]

Originally Posted by zltm089

Not sure if thats what caused it, but I used the halfords screenwash....

Asking because it is my understanding that tap water has dissolved organics in it and may be a contributor to the sludge build-up at the bottom of the reservoir. During the distilling process, I believe that the organics have been removed. For this reason, many manufacturers specify distilled water to be mixed with their coolant as opposed to tap water. Figured that this logic could be applied to the screen wash as well.

For what it's worth, I use only distilled water with coolant and screen wash mixtures. Cheap insurance.

[green halo]

Thanks for the pictures. I have to tackle this job in the next couple of weeks. Can you tell me if the pins that hold the access panel on are pop out clips or a screw of some sort/
Thanks

[jjbirch]

Originally Posted by green halo

Thanks for the pictures. I have to tackle this job in the next couple of weeks. Can you tell me if the pins that hold the access panel on are pop out clips or a screw of some sort/
Thanks

i had the same problem in the end my car needed a service asked the bmw tech and still its a problem with all e90's he said he would charge £50 to take it off clean it out and refill it deal, saves me messing all day with it

[m@rk]

Originally Posted by doughboy

Just sitck to the BMW screen wash, it is actually very good and very concentrated.

Doesn't smell like cheap vodka either when you wash the screen.

It's also cheaper than Halfords own as well so why wouldn't you?

[Noxious_]

I have my windsheild washers working but my headlamp washers ARE NOT. Any idea how to fix?

[craig2859]

Drop 1/2 a calgon tablet in your resevoir and leave it to do its magic - if its blocked

[sim303]

Hi all

I had this very problem a few months after I got my car. I suppose I could have taken in under the warranty but tbh couldn't be doing with the faff and downtime. I bit the bullet and took the bottle out as described above, and I'm glad I did because the bottom was full of black and green slime. Took it into the bath and flushed the crap out of it until it was spotless, same with the motor and pipes etc, stuck it all back and it's been perfect since.

I guess the previous owner must have skimped on screenwash and used plain water, allowing the mould to build up.

All in all it took about an hour. TBH the biggest faff was jacking the thing up - no built-in jack (grrr) and my trolley jack wouldn't fit underneath. Once that was sorted (drove onto some planks to get clearance for the trolley jack) the rest is pretty straightforward.

HTH

sim

[Dave4501]

This post helped me this weekend as I too had to perform this repair on my 06 330 sedan.

This job took me about 3 hours but the next time it will probably only take 1.5 hours due to the familiarity of what I'm doing.

Here are some pointers:
1. Pop rivets on fender holding liner to painted portion will only come out by destroying. These must be replaced by new rivets after fix.
2. Pump motor pulls directly out of filter piece with constant pressure. As usual with BMW fixes, I never know if I am destroying part during disassembly until it's too late.
3. Fluid level sensor (grey piece on back) twists out easily if you're careful.

This repair was a complete pain in the posterior and I hate it needed to be done. As with others, my reservoir was full of algea and other crud. I am still wondering why this happened as it has not with any other cars I've ever owned. Since my car is now almost 5 years old, I'm hoping it won't need to be done for another 5 years, if ever.

What is the fix to keep this from re-occurring?

[sim303]

Not sure why it happens, I can only suggest using a strong mix of washer fluid and not letting it stay empty/low for extended periods as it's the oxygen in the air in the bottle that promotes the growth I suppose.

I didn't encounter any once-only rivets or anything that breaks, maybe your car (E90?) uses a different system.

Glad you got it sorted anyway!

sim

[joker1271]

Excellent Pics. My E90 has plastice one time only rivots as posted before. Was told the only way to fight this gunk issue is to keep tank relatively full and use a alcohol based fluid. I have been using the reg. cheap stuff and black gunk was so thick looked almost like thin pieces of black plastic coming out when cleaning.

[sim303]

Originally Posted by joker1271

Excellent Pics. My E90 has plastice one time only rivots as posted before. Was told the only way to fight this gunk issue is to keep tank relatively full and use a alcohol based fluid. I have been using the reg. cheap stuff and black gunk was so thick looked almost like thin pieces of black plastic coming out when cleaning.

Yep, sounds familiar, my gunk was coming out in sheets!

[sanju]

Thanks so much Heli ! for posting pictures, This goes to show how nice you are. My 2006 325i has a leak in wash fluid tank & wanted to fix it since last several months, now finally have the good pictures for this DIY.

My car also have plastic Rivets along the fender holding the liner, if any one can help,

1. Best way to remove Rivets without damaging the liner & paint work near it
2. Size of new Rivets
3. Best tool to put New Rivets in
4. Is it easy to put the liner back easily, just like new ?