Removing the Cowl on late model BMW\'s

[AdamBMB]

I recently had the opportunity to work on a late model BMW, I think it was 2000 Z5 or something...anyway on the cowl under the drivers side wiper blade is an oval shaped metal piece that I could not remove. Can anyone help me understand why? is there a special tool? or am I just too worried about scarring the car? Please Help

[sydfloyd44]

This is not one of the brighter designs from BMW. It has to be removed in order to get the cowl off. I use a Snap On 2 jaw gear puller to remove it. I purchased it after running into it for the first time at a BMW dealer. The lead BMW tech showed me his and I bought it off the Snap On truck the same week. The part # is CG-240. Here it is on their site. http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/parts/pr ... up_id=6097
Never had any luck with any other tool for removing it. Haven't been able to find another brand gear puller that will work. Most are too small or too big. (can't get under hood or not wide enough to get under the edges)
This tool also works great for most wiper arms that are either rusted on or just won't come off with traditional methods, so its usage is for more than just BMW.
I will give you a tip when you do remove it. Before you do, take a black marker and put a SMALL line on the cowl showing the exact direction of it. I have seen many techs put them back on thinking they go straight up/down. Before you remove, you will see that they should be set just slightly clockwise. The line will give you a guide mark to set it back on correct. This is important because how you set this piece determines where the wiper will eventually lay once it is put back on. No fun getting the wiper back on and realizing you have to pull everything back off and readjust.