Power steering reservoir leaking... am I missing a gasket?

[Bimmersoul]

My power steering reservoir is leaking a lot of oil from its cap. No matter how tight it is it will still have a small leak. Upon inspecting the cap, I realized that there is not gasket, no rubber seal or anything a like so I am thinking that is the reason for the leak. Can anyone verify this?
My second guess is that my cap is cracked. My third guess is that the actual reservoir is cracked but… I decided to start by checking on the seal thing.

[FL 325i]

I always seem to have a little leakage there. I don't think there is supposed to be any sort of gasket there.

[02325]

there is no seal. the cap is actuatly vented if you look on teh end of one of the notches you will see the vent. it has to be vented. if you are over full it will push oil out. i like mine just above the min mark. no oilly residue on the cap.

most BMW have oilly residue on the cap or reservoir

[kkmlo9]

yeah unfortunately it appears this small "leakage" is normal. It's a little unsightly, so i just wipe it clean everytime i open the hood. But it's okay, as long as you have enough fluid in there, it hasn't caused any problems.

And yes, there is a little hole in the cap to let air out. Since the power steering system is self bleeding, so it will get rid of the air bubbles in the line.

[Bimmersoul]

Thank you guys... I wanted my leak to be just a missing gasket.

But I still have a problem because my leak is large! Every morning I will have 3 or 4 big oil spots on the floor. My drive way looks like and old truck parks there.

I will try and buy a new cap just to start looking in to this LARGE leak!

[w3God]

Where is it leaking? Cause if it is from the bottum then i know your problem as i had the same. There is a rubber tube and whatever it is connected to is held there by a really cheap metal ring that sometimes craps out and needs replacing. So i jsut went out and bought one of these, really cheap fix. Private shop wanted 90$ and i paid 1$ http://www.germes-online.com/direct/...Hose_Clamp.jpg

Hope that helps...

[BadBoostedBmwM3]

I have the same leakage.. it gets annoying.

[ZHP]

A major leak is likely coming from the hoses underneath the reservoir. Could be a bad clamp or a bad hose, either way it's a pretty common failure.

[nathancarter]

For what it's worth, there IS a gasket on the power steering cap. See here:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...57&hg=32&fg=20

It's very thin, like paper. I replaced that gasket about a year ago and the outside of the reservoir has been clean ever since. YMMV.

If you're leaking enough that it drips onto the floor, you've got a different problem, such as bad hoses, or bad clamps on the hose ends.

[White94RX]

Where is it leaking? Cause if it is from the bottum then i know your problem as i had the same. There is a rubber tube and whatever it is connected to is held there by a really cheap metal ring that sometimes craps out and needs replacing. So i jsut went out and bought one of these, really cheap fix. Private shop wanted 90$ and i paid 1$ http://www.germes-online.com/direct/...Hose_Clamp.jpg

Hope that helps...

this is a temporary fix at best. replace both the hose, and the clamps. if you only replace the clamp, as you suggested, it WILL start leaking again. all you did was put a band-aid on for a few thousand miles. The rubber of the hose deteriorates and no matter how tight that clamp is, it will leak. I've seen it a million times.

[SuckaGDog]

I've replaced the cap gasket in 330Ci. It used to leak a lot when i was corning hard. But now since i've replaced it, it's all good. Most dealers have it in stock.

[BadBoostedBmwM3]

For what it's worth, there IS a gasket on the power steering cap. See here:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...57&hg=32&fg=20

It's very thin, like paper. I replaced that gasket about a year ago and the outside of the reservoir has been clean ever since. YMMV.

If you're leaking enough that it drips onto the floor, you've got a different problem, such as bad hoses, or bad clamps on the hose ends.

I was going to say there was a gasket, and I just replaced mine too... so far its good!

[Bimmersoul]

Where is it leaking? Cause if it is from the bottum then i know your problem as i had the same. There is a rubber tube and whatever it is connected to is held there by a really cheap metal ring that sometimes craps out and needs replacing. So i jsut went out and bought one of these, really cheap fix. Private shop wanted 90$ and i paid 1$ Hope that helps...

I did in fact changed out the clamps thinking that the leaking was from the hoses... nope, the leaking is from the top as the reservoir is always full of oil and dirt on the outside-top part

A major leak is likely coming from the hoses underneath the reservoir. Could be a bad clamp or a bad hose, either way it's a pretty common failure.

As stated above, I changed out the clamps. Not leaking from the hoses.

For what it's worth, there IS a gasket on the power steering cap. See here:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...57&hg=32&fg=20

It's very thin, like paper. I replaced that gasket about a year ago and the outside of the reservoir has been clean ever since. YMMV.

If you're leaking enough that it drips onto the floor, you've got a different problem, such as bad hoses, or bad clamps on the hose ends.

aaahhhh... there is a gasket!! Thank you and sorry... I forgot to check realOEM. I have to go buy a gasket.

this is a temporary fix at best. replace both the hose, and the clamps. if you only replace the clamp, as you suggested, it WILL start leaking again. all you did was put a band-aid on for a few thousand miles. The rubber of the hose deteriorates and no matter how tight that clamp is, it will leak. I've seen it a million times.

You are right, is is best to change the hoses when changing clamps but my hoses looked very well.
I cleaned very well the area with degreeser and then I wraped the hoses with a dry rag. I used the car for a couple of days and then checked the rag. It was fairly stained from the outside and dry from the inside... the hoses where dry and the reservoir was dirty from the top down.
That is why I came to the conclusion that I was missing a gasket there.

I was going to say there was a gasket, and I just replaced mine too... so far its good!

Thank you guys. I will be buying the gasket on Saturday since I don't have a local BMW dealership.

For the guys that replaced the gasket, is there still a minimum leak or no leak at all.

Thanks

[nathancarter]

For the guys that replaced the gasket, is there still a minimum leak or no leak at all.
Thanks

I personally have had no leak at all, but there is still POTENTIAL for a minor leak. Carefully inspect the cap - there is a vent tube that goes from inside the P/S dipstick to a little vent hole on one of the knurls on the cap handle. Vapors and microdroplets of fluid can (in theory) come out of that vent hole and make the mess on the outside of the reservoir.

[w3God]

this is a temporary fix at best. replace both the hose, and the clamps. if you only replace the clamp, as you suggested, it WILL start leaking again. all you did was put a band-aid on for a few thousand miles. The rubber of the hose deteriorates and no matter how tight that clamp is, it will leak. I've seen it a million times.

Well i have put 20k + since that fix and no problems here...

[sungmin82]

My power steering fluid (CHF11S) on my 2006 330xi has been leaking out of the reservoir for a while now. I've tried replacing the fittings but it continued to leak and cost me about 200 dollars of fluid purchase because I had to refill it every 2-3 days. I learned from one of these threads that replacing the gasket would fix the problem. I didn't see one at first but I chose to order one from Amazon anyways for about six bucks. Used a knife to find the rubber piece and what do you know!?! there was a gasket (all be it a very worn one) on it. Replaced it and now its leak free! Should have done this first... would have saved me about 200 bucks. I also sprayed some WD-40 on the lower steering shaft coupler and now my bimmer drivers like new. Next project on my diy list is the cabin air filter.

1494250119671.jpg

[All2kool]

Ace Hardware sells a Danco #37 O-Ring that corrects this 'weeping' issue. Less than a dollar - cost me all of $.59.

[curry]

I have an o-ring on my power steering cap. No leaks.

[All2kool]

I have an o-ring on my power steering cap. No leaks.

As did I but after 15 years, it was mashed and no longer making a good seal. This is a very common issue with BMW PS Reservoirs. There is another thread here or on Bimmerfest about this very issue - it's where I learned of the Danco #37 O-Ring solution.