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Anyone seen a defective Behr Reservoir before (2002 530i)

26K views 90 replies 28 participants last post by  bluebee 
#1 · (Edited)
I saw this thread on another forum, basically a flap inside the bottom connection of the new Behr Reservoir (basically plugged up from the factory), anyone seen this before? This will create a No HEAT condition in the cabin regardless of how many times you bleed the system!

http://bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/847562

http://bimmerboard.com/forums/posts/847577

When I got the tank out and turned it upside down I immediately noticed that the hole that takes in the aux. pump hose was not open. I stuck in a screw driver and pushed - the screw driver went in. It looked like I had a flap on the inner edge of the tank's opening. I also noticed that there was something like a burr or material that was holding the flap in place. I filed the burr off but could not get the flap out of the tank. I decided to put my old expansion tank on the car and not risk with the new one again.
Bluebee, when you did the autopsy of your reservoir, did you see any flap?
 
#36 ·
A quick Google search using keyword "Behr Reservoir China" will show some links.

Behr opened its operation in China in 2000 or so. Thanks God I bought my Behr reservoir in May 2006 and it clearly said "Made in Germany".

This is what I got from the Google search. So for me from now on: Good-bye Behr, here it comes Sachs and Nissens, I simply hate this out-sourcing business shiiiit:

 

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#40 ·
So the question is ...
With the cooling overhaul
radiator
water pump
Hoses
but if the expansion tank is doing fine, if you leave it; will it be the weakest link?
Or is the replacement a weak link??? :dunno:

If you absolutely need to replace the expansion tank 2001 530i
which is the better choice see this link:

http://www.rmeuropean.com/bmw-parts.aspx#Category

sorry need to copy and paste
But this source lists the Behr expansion tank
and a seperate OEM Original :dunno:
 
#39 ·
I hope our government mandates that products display country of manufacturer/ product origin. Looking at the financial mess around, I doubt it, but I hope it is a law. In this case we just stop buying parts from China. I stopped buying tools from China more than 10 years ago. They were not in the parts market yet then. They are getting in now, so we just avoid them. I know it's not that simple, but it's not too complicated either. I don't know our companies' business models over there, but does not seem they care about the quality of the products much. They care about lowering cost and passing on the junk and " the savings" to the consumer. For me the lesson is clear - never assume new part to be working part. My assumption lead me to delay by a month the resolution of my problem with a defective Behr expansion tank. I did not pull it up right away, although I had a hunch from the moment I installed it. I kept checking other things.
 
#41 · (Edited)
I would get the original BMW tank. It's probably also made in China, but may be it has passed a better quality control.

I was able to get the flap out of my faulty Chinese Behr expansion tank today after waving and shaking it for a while. It is a thin round piece of plastic of the same material the tank is made of with the diameter of the the outlets at the bottom of the tank. I think I can use it now. No point of returning it, as they will probably send me another plugged up one from the cursed batch:).
 
#42 ·
cooling system parts

There have been a few threads on 'made in china' cooling system parts which made me worry as I purchased a complete system from Pelican parts a few months ago and as yet haven't installed so I went and checked to see what I had:

Radiator: Behr/Hella "Made in South Africa "(this should be ok as they manufacture BMW cars in S.A. don't they?)

Expansion Tank: Plasitc bag it's in has "Made in Germany" sticker on it and the tank has the BMW logo in the moulding, so I assume its genuine BMW.

Water Pump: No manufacturers name but the box has "Made in Austria"

Fan: no manufacturers name but "Made in Germany on it.

One thing also the radiator has no "build date" sticker on it.

I just hope I have no issues from these parts as I'm in Australia and would have to either go to the dealer and grab my ankles or wait a week or so to get a fair priced part from the U.S.
 
#43 · (Edited)
#44 ·
Reservoir Seam Reinforcement

I too got a bad Behr reservoir - leaked from the seam the day I put it in. For the next one I used JB Weld - forced it down into the seam gap all around, after hitting it lightly with a wire wheel to rough up the surface. Built it up about 1/16th above the edge.

Has been leak-free for 6 months now.

Hope this helps.
 
#47 ·
For the cross-link record, Doru, today, reported yet another bad-Behr DOA:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Cooling overhaul gone wrong

Amongst other stuff, did also the cooling overhaul.
Once everything was buttoned up, filled her up. To my surprise, I noticed a leak - quite significant from the bottom of the expansion tank - both hoses were leaking. Well, I was upset, but what the heck! maybe I did something wrong. Opened her up and the hoses looked seated properly. So i pulled them out and replaced the expansion tank with the original one. Guess what? No more leaks. So that expansion tank: Behr by Hella, Made in China. So I guess, I will shell some dough and buy it from the stealer...
So everything is allright - right? No Siree
Now the new radiator is leaking at one of them crimps by the driver side!!!
That one is also Behr, but this one is Made in S Africa. Again, maybe the stealer is the best bet for these parts...
I am very upset. Not sure when I will have the car roadworthy, and in all honesty I just have enough for today. And tomorrow and the day after... just sick with all these parts that are subpar.
 
#48 ·
#51 ·
To digress a bit, Volvo rotor is now made in China (a Chinese now owns Volvo, whatever it means!), and comes in a blue box saying "genuine Volvo part", geezzz!!!

I don't mind buying Chinese food or Chinese fireworks for July 04, but Chinese car parts, they are 2000 years behind the Western world...

 

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#55 ·
For the record, this quote today sums up one user's feelings rather well:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Radiator issue

after a preventive maintenance cooling system replacement on my M62 I had to go through THREE tanks before I got one that would last more than 4 months.

On the first two the problem was almost microscopic pin-holes secondary to crappy materials, crappy casting technique and non-existant quality control at Behr's Chinese factory.

That's right: CHINESE. Nicht Deutschland!
 
#56 ·
i am on my second expansion tank replacement. M62. the first one i bought a Behr. started leaking somewhere near the sensor port. bought a cheap ebay one this time. i do not mind spending $30 every year for a new expansion tank, but i do mind spending $70 a year on one. if there are that many out there that are failing within a year, then i am not going to try elsewhere. i am also running NPG+ is my car. the pressure is never up in the tank. the fluid would drain out after i stopped. it was not coming out while i was driving.

G~
 
#57 ·
By way of cross reference, see this thread from today:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > cooling system overhaul, not always a good idea

18 months ago i did a cooling system overhaul even though it had been trouble free... last month i had a coolant leak..... it was coming from a hairline crack in the new Meyle expansion tank. the crack is barely visible but you can feel it with your fingernail..... so dug up the old expansion tank from the garage and installed it back ..... problem fixed, but now i have an old expansion tank.
 
#58 · (Edited)
Apparently today was posted yet another defective Behr China expansion tank:
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Genuine BMW Expansion Tank
I replaced my expansion tank in July2010 with what I thought was "OEM" labeled as Hella-Behr and had "made in china" below it. I didnt make anything of it and installed it. As soon as I installed it the sensor level was leaking so I had to make "adjustments" for it. 14months later its leaking again.

So I decided not to mickey mouse with the reservoir and bought genuine BMW tank, level sensor and cap. Also got a brass bleeder for it which I will eventually do on my other cars as well.

No leaks, im happy. Lets see how long this one will last. Took pics of a Hella-Behr next to the Genuine Unit. Sorry for the lousy pics but you can tell right away from the finish
 

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#59 ·
I bought a Behr expansion tank along with other cooling components about 13 months ago from EAC Tuning and just noticed that I was losing a small amount coolant each week. After inspection I located the leakage at the bottom of the tank near the fitting for the level sensor. I guess I'll just chock it up to experience and go buiy a genuine unit from Tischer (getBMWparts.com).
 
#60 ·
that is exactly what happened with me. i am sure it is not EAC Tuning's fault. the timing on yours matches pretty close to the timing on mine.

G~
 
#61 ·
For the cross-linked record, we have new information on how better to tell if a Chinese-made Behr Hella expansion tank needs to be sent back upon arrival!
- E39 (1997 - 2003) > Genuine BMW Expansion Tank

Just a couple of comments on the reservoir photos, from a molding perspective. The reservoir on the right is a pretty poor molding.
1) There is heavy sinking due to the internal ribbing. This is typically caused by not adequately packing out the mold during injection or running the mold at too low a temperature.
2) There is a heavy knit line running up the middle of the part where the material flowed around the mold & met in the middle. This is emblematic of either too low a mold temperature or too low an injection barrell temperature. This causes a weak point that can either split or leak.
3) On the top of the part, the one in the back is shiny around the gate. This is where the plastic shrank away from the mold cavity, again a sign of inadequate filling of the mold.
4) There is a little bit of "splay" (shiny snot like areas) running through both parts, but the one on the right a little more. The recycling symbol indicates the part is made of 6/6 Nylon, which needs to be dried extensively prior to molding. Otherwise moisture in the resin causes the splay. This also degrades the mechanical properties of the finished part.
5) Most likely both parts are made of 6/6 Nylon, but this is a material grade, not a brand. There are literally hundreds of different brands of nylon compounded and they are very definitely all created equal.

The one with the BMW logo is a significantly better quality of molding.
 

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#62 ·
For the crosslinked record, see this thread today:
> E39 (1997 - 2003) > BEHR expansion tank leaks after 5000 miles

... cooling system job back in Nov 2011. I bought a BEHR expansion tank as recommended on the forums and it even has Made in Germany stamped on the bottom. This morning I was checking my oil and saw this! I've driven about 5000 miles since the replacement and I couldn't believe how quick this tank started leaking around the seams. I'll be contacting www.oembimmerparts.com and see if they'll warranty this or offer me a refund.
 

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#64 · (Edited)
Add me to the list of a crack at the seam of "GP" (not Behr) Reservoir.

In May 2006 @ 90K miles, I overhauled the coolant system. The Reservoir (PN 17111723520) was made by "GP", not sure of the "Country of Origin" (was it "Made in Germany" or "Made in China"? I don't know).

Fastforward 6 years/40K miles later, I notice that I lose approx. 1 cup of coolant every month, and the bottom of the reservoir was wet. The bottom line: very fine crack on the FRONT side of reservoir and the Seam.

One thing I have always done, when I replace any parts preventively and if the part is still good, I keep it. So it is a good thing I still kept the factory reservoir (made in 1997), so it goes back in for now until I sort it out.

So the questions:

1. Is everyone happy with BMW dealer reservoir (someone told me it is made by "GP")?

2. The Behr reservoir (made in China): I am staying away from this!

3. Online vendors also sell "Meyle" reservoir: is it any good?

4. My last resort is to mod the BMW using the Reservoir from a 1998 V70 (the 850 series) Reservoir.
The thing is: my 1998 Volvo V70 reservoir from factory is still chucking along at 14y/120K miles. Also, people in Volvo forum rarely report reservoir issues!

--------
Here is the pic of the crack at the seam on the Reservoir by "GP" after 6y/40K miles:

 

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#65 ·
I had two behr expansion tanks fail on me. One lasted 7 months one 9 months. They were fitted by a indie which kindly fitted me a genuine BMW one 16 months after the original work.

Leak was from the bottom both times, so presuming these were both China made tanks. Pretty shocked at behr quality control! They are doing there brand much good.
 
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