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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?
 
#4 ·
MatWiz,

the case in question is an M54 engine with reservoir that has two (2) outlets att he bottom.

My 1998 528i has only one (1) outlet at the bottom.
I just snapped this pic for you. 528 2000.



Sent from my IBM 360/20 using punch cards.
 
#6 ·
It's gonna look like a cheap Bar-Mitzva magic show, but here it goes... Drums....

Ah huh... ??


Tada...


Tada!


LOL

Sent from my IBM 360/20 using punch cards.
 
#13 ·
Hi, I was not talking about the shelf inside the reservoir. I installed a new Behr tank while replacing my radiator and thermostat and drove for a month without heat. I pulled it up yesterday and the flap that I was talking about was sitting on the inner rim of the spout that connects a hose to the aux. pump. The direction of the flow there is out of the tank, so any flap on the inside of the tank would effectively stop any flow. I pushed the flap in and it disappeared somewhere inside. I could not get it out. I think, it might still be there - folded back and clinging to the bottom of the tank on the inside. I also had my original tank and it has no flaps. I think the tank I got is defective. The question is: are there other defective tanks out there as this one, or I was the lucky one:).
 
#17 ·
Unfortunately I can't cut the reservoir in half. I am returning it to the store I got it from and getting a new one. I am driving with my old one in the car now. The bluebee link that you posted is what I have. If you turn the tank upside down and look at the two outlets there would be nothing special to see. If you flash a light inside you would not see much either. I have run water through all outlets of my old one and the new one after dealing with the flap. Water flows freely in all directions. The tank is essentially one big empty vessel with some inside walls with holes. I don't understand the intricacies of German engineering, but I am fairly certain that the tank will work even if had none of the walls on the inside. May be some of its compartments are to reinforce it and others to separate the bottom part from the top. Don't know why.
 
#19 ·
That is an awesome find, pleiades. Thank you very much. I was beginning to think that the flap I saw in my new Behr tank was an illusion caused by hypothermia from driving my car without heat for too long:), but the picture on that post dispels my doubts. I could not take a good look at my plugged up hole because when I stuck a screwdriver and pushed in the flap disappeared inside.
 
#20 ·
Hi, did you acquire your Behr tank from a BMW dealership or through an online vendor?

If you get it from the dealer I suspect it doesn't have "Behr" on it anymore but can't be sure.

I haven't read your bimmerforum thread but if this happened to me and I let my car run for a significant time in that shape, I'd declare the aux pump toast and replace it too because it has probably been straining away in a literal vacuum.
 
#22 · (Edited)
I purchased the tank from www.eeuroparts.com for close to $70. It is a Behr tank. I pulled the aux. pump up and out of the car and ran it just to see if the propeller spins. It worked fine. My car starts blowing warm air couple of min. after I start it and after five more min. blows so much scorching heat when on max. from the vents that I hope everything works well. I think the aux. pump is OK for now. You might be right though - it may have suffered some damage by running on dry for a month. We'll see.
 
#23 · (Edited)
I may be late to the party but I saw cn90's request early this morning but I had an interview to go to so the pictures had to wait.

I see that there are already pics ... but I confirm there is no such flap in my OEM Behr expansion tank.

Both holes have a clear shot through sans obstructions. The only thing that is there is that mysterious black slider which goes over both holes like an upside down cup.

I'm still not sure what that slider does; nor am I certain of its proper position with respect to the black stalk ... so anyone who replaces their expansion tank is asked to cut open that section and tell us what they find.

Here are the pics (now redundant) I took as a response to this query

THIS FIRST HOLE IS CLEARLY UNOBSTRUCTED:


THIS SECOND HOLE IS ALSO UNOBSTRUCTED (SEE THE WHITISH STICK I POKED IN THE BOTTOM FOR THE CAMERA TO SEE DOWN TO):



ABOUT THE ONLY THING IN THE WAY IS THE 'MYSTERIOUS SLIDER' AS CAN BE SEEN BY THIS SIDE VIEW:
 

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#52 ·
If I dont miss my guess the black slider is the float for the level stick, the white slider is the float for the level sensor(it has a little magnet in it)
 
#26 ·
Does the box slide or is pinned down?
Aha! THAT, is the question!
- Will the next person who replaces his expansion tank please cut the old tank open and snap a photograph of the "natural" position of the second chamber?

Here are some data points:
- The black slider clearly slides up and down (IF) the black stalk allows it to slide!
- That black slider is shaped like an upside down cup and covers with its opening both of the hose holes at the bottom of the expansion tank;
- The black stalk is clearly shorter than the expansion tank is long (it is only about 1/2 the length of the expansion tank) which is weird;
- The black slider does have a hole in the top that APPEARS to accommodate the black stalk if the slider were to slide all the way UP to the top third of the expansion tank;

Now, here's what I saw when I first opened my expansion tank:
- The black slider was PINNED in place by the black stalk which was stuck on the top of the black slider preventing the black slider from moving up!

I suspect this is an anomalous condition (see all the observations above) but that's why I'd like to see someone else cut open their expansion tank and report what they see with respect to the position of the black slider and black stalk.

 

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#27 ·
Notice, BTW, my Behr expansion tank exhibited two (maybe three) failures:

1. The white stalk fell off the white float (and was nowhere to be seen when the expansion tank was on the car; but it was inside when I opened it up).

2. The black stalk seems to have slipped out of its slot and thereby pinned the black slider in a position stuck in the lower half of the expansion tank.

3. When I removed the hose from the expansion tank, the nipple broke off (this only happened during removal though).

 
#28 ·
So that makes at least 4 of us just on this forum who have had this same problem:
*
FYI, if you did not buy it at a dealer, even though it says Behr on it, it is really Behr/Hella, which is aftermarket, not to be confused with Behr/Heat xfer systems who manufactures the OEM Behr expansion tanks directly for BMW. How do I know all this ? I chased down just about everyone at Behr heat transfer from SC to Germany, including getting a couple email responses directly from the CEO of Behr heat transfer himself and he put me in contact with the head of product development at Behr/Hella. I am in process of negotiating an amicable resolution/settlement with that person. I will certainly use the fact that there were others in my quest for satisfaction out of them.
 
#30 ·

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#31 ·
I replaced my reservoir with a Behr Reservoir (single outlet because mine is 1998 528i) in 2006, so far so good.

I have heard there has been some counter-feit parts, is this possible, i.e., some Chinese counter-feiters made these resevoirs and put Behr name on it illegally?
Does the box say "Behr, Made in Germany"?
 
#32 ·
I've been troubleshooting my no heat issue after cooling system OH issue for 2 months now. Tonight, I decided to pull Behr Chinese expansion tank and found the defect flap. This is after replacing the aux water pump and heater valves. I'd like to get in contact with those Behr reps as well. I'll be phoning RM European in the morning.
 
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