Windshield washer pump repair

[Blaise]

The previous owner of my car had abandoned the windshield washer pump and dropped an aftermarket pump in the engine bay...unsecured.

In doing a little investigating, I checked out the stock pump and found that when energized the motor hummed, but did not turn.

I took the pump apart, and found the pump gears seized. I did some cleaning and it works great now.

Here are a few photos to share:

http://picasaweb.google.com/blaisedesco ... directlink

Let me know if sharing little fixes like this is helpful.

[T.Hanson]

Very helpful. As the silly thing is thirty years old and there are fewer cars running around every day, probably only to me and two others. But that's what's great to me.

Single handed, you took a perfectly good thing and let it go back to doing what it was designed to do. Ha !

Like oiling the Tin Woodsman.

[Lenny D.]

I went that route. The design flaw of the original pump is the fact that the gears are a seperate section from the motor (and impeller). It will eventually leak washer fluid from the gear section onto a hidden area leading to rust of the panel below. A M H I K

I then bit the bullet and bought a new one, same design. It failed (leaked) within two years. I now have a universal pump (for a quarter of the price) attached, unsecured, but 'wrapped' in the tubing to the washer reservoir happily squirting washer fluid onto the windshield where it's supposed to go.

Some original designs are good to let go of. Good luck in your pump not leaking.

[Blaise]

Thanks for the info.

It looks like it could leak in two places. The outer plate seal and the drive gear shaft.

The outer plate seal is easy to seal with a little sealant and should not leak again....unless I open it.

The shaft seal on the other hand....is old...and probably not replaceable. I will have to keep an eye on it.

[1st 5er]

Here are a few photos to share:

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/xS ... directlink

Pic link is not to topic.

[Blaise]

Strange. I fixed it. Sorry about that

http://picasaweb.google.com/blaisedesco ... directlink

[Blaise]

Okay, the pump is fixed, but now I have to put the whole thing back in.

I have done some searching but am not convinced that I have the hook up right.

The pump has an IN and an OUT. That is easy.

The reservoir has THREE nozzles:

One is straight and has a large hole to the reservoir. I am guessing that this FEED would be connected to the IN on the pump.

The other two are configured in an L, with a pin hole to the reservoir. I am guessing that the OUT of the pump connects to the nozzle that is not "in-line", and the "in-line" nozzle goes to the windshield. I am not exactly sure what this does, but am thinking that it has something to do with back pressure once the pump is switched off....maybe releasing the pump pressure in the line?

A few photos:

<table><tr><td align="center"><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/blaisedesco ... site"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_UZQuuBHQvx4/S-94r ... estion.jpg" width="160" height="160"></a></td></tr><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/blaisedesco ... Windshield washer plumbing question</a></td></tr></table>

[Lenny D.]

Ask and Ye shall receive - From the BMW Repair Manual



From experience I can comment on why the reservoir is built the way it is. If you look inside one of the orifices (I forget which) there is a molded partial obstruction inside the hole. I learned that the reason for this is twofold. One is to create pressure in the line by forcing fluid through the other hole (onto the tubing to the nozzles), but in the case of a completely plugged line or nozzle(s), instead of blowing the system to leakage or failure the fluid has a path back into the reservoir. Crafty Germans.

[Blaise]

I sent this question to a couple of my friends and we figured it out too.

We had not thought about the clogged line situation.

Thanks so much for posting that. It is nice to have the confirmation and be able to do it right.

I am digging into this car and preparing it to be a reliable runner, hence the tidal wave of questions.

Thank you for all the help