I' ve gotten some really great tips from this sight, so I decided to create a DIY of a recent project. It should at least provide specifics enough that some who may not have normally thought of doing this will feel more comfortable. Hope it helps!

 

This is fantastic! Great idea and write up.

 

Very nice, where is the rest of it though...?

 

EDIT -

Also, question -- given that pretty much every other reservoir leaks -- why didn't you replace the reservoir at the same time?

 

I believe coolant reservoir is known to leak [due to age or low quality of the part]. I didn't know that windshield washer fluid reservoir is known to leak. Windshield washer pump and/or grommet are known to be the causes for vast majority of washer fluid leaks.

 

I went ahead and swapped mine out -- figured it would be leaking in no time, and while I have the car apart ...

I guess chalk it up to preventative maintenance.

 

My reservoir was leaking. Replaced reservoir and grommets/screens and no more leak. Hard to say which was leaking, but for $41 (reservoir cost) I did not want to have to go back in. No more leak.

 

Great video!

When the pumps leak, it is because they have poorly made internal rubber o-rings that become brittle.

It seems to be very common, however not everyone has this problem. I suspect that the rubber o-ring does not like certain kinds or homemade brews of windshield washer fluid.

Once the fluid seeps up past the brittle o-ring, it finds its way to an overflow drainage hole engineered to prevent the pump from getting short-circuited by the fluid. Hence you get the fluid all over the floor and the pump will still work but without any fluid to spray.

When my pump went bad, I replaced it and decided to open up the old one to see what happened. Sure enough you could hear the brittle bits of rubber bouncing around inside and the entire wall above the o-ring area was covered in rust.

BMW seemed to know about this, and they subsequently replaced the older original part with a newer version and newer part number. It would be a good idea to only buy the newer pump to prevent this from happening again.

 

Lots of reasons why the leak. Mine was leaking last year and when I looked in the well at the pump I actually removed the pump and cleaned the line and all of the connections. Re-installed it and was planning to order a new pump, but since then it hasn't leaked further. Kinda crazy I think... I better go look right now, because as I just said this, I am sure I will have a puddle under my car now!

 

The original pumps in my '04 are not leaking, it was either the rubber grommets/strainer or the reservoir itself. I did experience a leaking pump on my E38 way back when, so I agree it happens.