after years of being mildly annoyed by the headlight washer system on our cars (not particularly useful, adds those ugly trim pieces to the front of the vehicle), i figured it was time to get rid of it. the headlight washer system is a supplementary add on to the normal windshield washing system ie it pulls fluid from the same reservoir so you can simply remove the headlight washer components and plug the hole on your windshield washer tank.
since i had to remove a lot of stuff to get to it, this was also a good opportunity to add onto this project by sizing down and relocating the current windshield washer tank.
Brey Krause makes a nifty little bracket that lets you use a smaller E36 washer bottle relocated to the drug bin but in classic BK fashion, their instructions left a lot to be desired so i figured i'd add some clarifying info. fair warning: this is a decent amount of work for an ultimately minor mod
parts needed:
- 61668370834 - E36 washer tank
- 61318360459 - E36 washer fluid level sensor (E46 M3 washer fluid level sensor plug plugs right into it)
- 61311369343 - E36 washer fluid level sensor grommet
- you can reuse your E46 M3 washer fluid pump
- you can reuse your E46 M3 washer fluid pump grommet
- you can reuse your E46 M3 washer tank cap
- ~8 ft of 16g wire
- ~8 ft of 18g wire
- R9232 - Brey Krause washer relocation bracket
- 51138208679 - E46 M3 left side non washer fluid lower headlight trim
- 51138208680 - E46 M3 right side non washer fluid lower headlight trim
you have to remove the headlights and front bumper to get to the windshield washer tank and headlight washer system. there's nothing too tricky about removing them once you get access
old setup compared to the new setup
- not much weight lost (~3 pounds total)
- washer fluid capacity goes from 5.4L to 2.5L
- whatever weight in washer fluid you want to run ends up being moved closer to the center mass of the car but higher up the center of gravity.
- no dash lights from leaving the headlight washer plug unplugged
BK mount in the drug bin
- the washer fluid hose you can simply reroute into the drug bin
- the wiring for the fluid washer pump plug (16 gauge) and fluid level sensor plug (18 gauge) will have to be extended and routed into the drug bin
- cut the plugs where they are, extend the wiring into the drug bin, and then reconnect the plugs to the new wiring (this is common sense to anyone that's familiar with wiring, it was not common sense to me)
- the pass through hole BK instructs you to use is a tight fit to get all that through
- there's a lot of play in the mounting bracket to accommodate for old and warped washer tanks, be patient and follow the directions on how to set it all up
all bolted in and working!
- a much tidier setup and now you can run the cleaner looking headlight trim
- i chose to source new E36 parts, it took a fair bit of trial and error to get the tank to fit well, imo some work could be done on that bracket and how it locates the tank, but overall very pleased with how this turned out.
since i had to remove a lot of stuff to get to it, this was also a good opportunity to add onto this project by sizing down and relocating the current windshield washer tank.
Brey Krause makes a nifty little bracket that lets you use a smaller E36 washer bottle relocated to the drug bin but in classic BK fashion, their instructions left a lot to be desired so i figured i'd add some clarifying info. fair warning: this is a decent amount of work for an ultimately minor mod
parts needed:
- 61668370834 - E36 washer tank
- 61318360459 - E36 washer fluid level sensor (E46 M3 washer fluid level sensor plug plugs right into it)
- 61311369343 - E36 washer fluid level sensor grommet
- you can reuse your E46 M3 washer fluid pump
- you can reuse your E46 M3 washer fluid pump grommet
- you can reuse your E46 M3 washer tank cap
- ~8 ft of 16g wire
- ~8 ft of 18g wire
- R9232 - Brey Krause washer relocation bracket
- 51138208679 - E46 M3 left side non washer fluid lower headlight trim
- 51138208680 - E46 M3 right side non washer fluid lower headlight trim
you have to remove the headlights and front bumper to get to the windshield washer tank and headlight washer system. there's nothing too tricky about removing them once you get access
old setup compared to the new setup
- not much weight lost (~3 pounds total)
- washer fluid capacity goes from 5.4L to 2.5L
- whatever weight in washer fluid you want to run ends up being moved closer to the center mass of the car but higher up the center of gravity.
- no dash lights from leaving the headlight washer plug unplugged
BK mount in the drug bin
- the washer fluid hose you can simply reroute into the drug bin
- the wiring for the fluid washer pump plug (16 gauge) and fluid level sensor plug (18 gauge) will have to be extended and routed into the drug bin
- cut the plugs where they are, extend the wiring into the drug bin, and then reconnect the plugs to the new wiring (this is common sense to anyone that's familiar with wiring, it was not common sense to me)
- the pass through hole BK instructs you to use is a tight fit to get all that through
- there's a lot of play in the mounting bracket to accommodate for old and warped washer tanks, be patient and follow the directions on how to set it all up
all bolted in and working!
- a much tidier setup and now you can run the cleaner looking headlight trim
- i chose to source new E36 parts, it took a fair bit of trial and error to get the tank to fit well, imo some work could be done on that bracket and how it locates the tank, but overall very pleased with how this turned out.
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