Bimmerworld PS reservoir - now loss of PS

dogbone thanks for the talk today. Hopefully BW will look into this as well as your issue, as this was not right at all. I will go though your thread when I get back to the house. Again thank you for your time today!

just an opinion, but it seems too coincidental to not be related to the reservoir.

i wonder if the filter reduces cavitation? i don't have good knowledge of the inner workings of power steering systems.

You are brave , I would remove the BW tank altogether

It serves no purpose me think , just use the motorcycle catch can for the oem tank.

When I unpackaged my BW reservoir I was fiddling with it on the work bench.
The first thing I noticed was a grinding/galling feeling and noise, when rotating the cap.
I was all "What the fuck is this shit? This is generating aluminum chips, that rain into the reservoir!"
I kept fiddling and noticed that if push down hard enough to squish the seal (which is also the spring) when rotating the cap, the galling grinding behavior stopped.
If you look at a radiator cap design, one of the things you'll notice is the seal on a typical radiator filler neck is INSIDE of the retaining mechanism AND the mechanism is usually OUTSIDE of the reservoir confines.
With the Moroso (BW) design, you'll notice that their filler neck design is inside-out, which puts the seal OUTSIDE of the mechanism and the mechanism is INSIDE of the reservoir confines.
So every time the cap is rotated, aluminum debris can be generated and rain into the reservoir, unless you push down on the cap while rotating, and even then, it's still likely generating smaller amounts of debris.
Sorry to sound opinionated, but it's a shitty concept, that was no doubt insisted on by the bean counters and manufacturing folks at Moroso, I suppose to reduce costs and improve ease of manufacture.

The reservoir did cure my engine bay spray downs though, but I'll be modifying my reservoir, to put the seal INSIDE the mechanism and the mechanism OUTSIDE of the reservoir confines.

I've been running two BW tanks since they came out. If they were the cause for failure by now I would know and wouldn't be running this anymore

SYT_Shadow wrote

I've been running two BW tanks since they came out. If they were the cause for failure by now I would know and wouldn't be running this anymore

Hey SVT I contacted you when I was first having this issue. The issue is I believe my reservoir came with this aluminum shavings already at the bottom of the reservoir. Once installed, filled, and circulated it contaminated my system causing failure to the system. Dogbone also experienced this as well in his racecar at Cota. Now another person above has also documented issues with aluminum filings. Not saying it's wide spread but its something to be looked into. This BWR set me back a cool $3k this week replacing my power steering system.

Davisca455 wrote

When I unpackaged my BW reservoir I was fiddling with it on the work bench.
The first thing I noticed was a grinding/galling feeling and noise, when rotating the cap.
I was all "What the fuck is this shit? This is generating aluminum chips, that rain into the reservoir!"
I kept fiddling and noticed that if push down hard enough to squish the seal (which is also the spring) when rotating the cap, the galling grinding behavior stopped.
If you look at a radiator cap design, one of the things you'll notice is the seal on a typical radiator filler neck is INSIDE of the retaining mechanism AND the mechanism is usually OUTSIDE of the reservoir confines.
With the Moroso (BW) design, you'll notice that their filler neck design is inside-out, which puts the seal OUTSIDE of the mechanism and the mechanism is INSIDE of the reservoir confines.
So every time the cap is rotated, aluminum debris is generated and rains into the reservoir, unless you push down on the cap while rotating, and even then, it's still likely generating smaller amounts of debris.
Sorry to sound opinionated, but it's a shitty concept, that was no doubt insisted on by the bean counters and manufacturing folks at Moroso, I suppose to reduce costs and improve ease of manufacture.

The reservoir did cure my engine bay spray downs though, but I'll be modifying my reservoir, to put the seal INSIDE the mechanism and the mechanism OUTSIDE of the reservoir confines.

Thank you for your post sir. I hope John from BW is seeing this as well

I bought my latest car with a recently installed BW reservoir and essentially the same thing happened to me, maybe just a coincidence though? I had an extended warranty and took my car to the dealer, first they replaced the PS pump and that helped but did not resolve the issue. I took it back and was able to demonstrate what was happening (intermittent loss of power steering). The dealer replaced my steering rack and re-replaced the PS pump the second visit, they also encountered the issue with newer PS pumps needing a different serpentine belt on them that rotates the PS pump the opposite direction as the earlier pumps. I think they ended up replacing the PS pump a third time in figuring this out but ultimately this completely resolved the issue. I also elected to purchase a new PS cooler and replace it during this time to make sure all metal flakes were out my PS system. Upon returning home I noticed I still had metal flakes in the PS fluid after all of this. The dealer assured me they got it all the metal flakes out and flushed the fluid multiple times when they installed the new rack. I've taken it upon myself to flush the fluid one more time and I still have flakes but haven't had a single additional issue since the new rack went in.

Long winded I know, apologies but wanted to convey my full experience for whoever experiences this next. A year later now and still no issues, I am still running the BW reservoir and I do still see some metal flakes, I think it's likely just from the rack design and part of the reason they included a filter as part of the OE solution.

Mobbin thanks for that. I had my PS flushed at Mporium this time last year and only several thousand miles ago when I did my rod bearings. No issues ever with the power steering rack or pump. I only replaced the reservoir due to the cap leaking and I'm anal about how clean my car is. For a system to go out before the car even leaves the garage is suspect when the only thing that was changed was the reservoir. I hope others that have had any issues with flakes finds this post.

thanks for this post and sorry for your mis-adventure. glad you got it sorted in the end

This post put the pressure (paranoia) on to install my inline filter, so I did.

Step 1 was to perform the busham bleeding procedure…

DIY: Power Steering COMPLETE Flush

…and then start the installation.
(I only had about 10,000 miles on my fluid, after a full flush, and it didn't actually look all that good)

I'll post a detailed install after I modify the BW reservoir with a proper cap/filler neck design.

Davisca455 wrote

This post put the pressure (paranoia) on to install my inline filter, so I did.

Step 1 was to perform the busham bleeding procedure…

DIY: Power Steering COMPLETE Flush

…and then start the installation.
(I only had about 10,000 miles on my fluid, after a full flush, and it didn't actually look all that good)

I'll post a detailed install after I modify the BW reservoir with a proper cap/filler neck design.

I've been racing with the BW reservoir for 4+ years now and never had an issue. The only time I ever had an issue was when I ran the wrong pump and it was sending fluid backwards.

I also added one of those little Setrab coolers with the attached fans. PS works like a champ.

magnetic1 wrote

Davisca455 wrote

This post put the pressure (paranoia) on to install my inline filter, so I did.

Step 1 was to perform the busham bleeding procedure…

DIY: Power Steering COMPLETE Flush

…and then start the installation.
(I only had about 10,000 miles on my fluid, after a full flush, and it didn't actually look all that good)

I'll post a detailed install after I modify the BW reservoir with a proper cap/filler neck design.

I've been racing with the BW reservoir for 4+ years now and never had an issue. The only time I ever had an issue was when I ran the wrong pump and it was sending fluid backwards.

I also added one of those little Setrab coolers with the attached fans. PS works like a champ.

I haven't had any actual problems with it either, and it cured the engine bay spray downs.
I just wanted to have a filter, because someone in BMW engineering made the case for an integrated filter in their reservoir, and then that someone's boss signed off on the idea.
Also, it creeps me out that my cap grinds on the aluminum if I don't push down while turning.

Davisca455 wrote

This post put the pressure (paranoia) on to install my inline filter, so I did.

Step 1 was to perform the busham bleeding procedure…

DIY: Power Steering COMPLETE Flush

…and then start the installation.
(I only had about 10,000 miles on my fluid, after a full flush, and it didn't actually look all that good)

I'll post a detailed install after I modify the BW reservoir with a proper cap/filler neck design.

Hey Chris, can you provide me with the inline filter part number. This has got me thinking about what you said..........It came with a filter, now I have removed it! Thanks.

irokwrx wrote

Davisca455 wrote

This post put the pressure (paranoia) on to install my inline filter, so I did.

Step 1 was to perform the busham bleeding procedure…

DIY: Power Steering COMPLETE Flush

…and then start the installation.
(I only had about 10,000 miles on my fluid, after a full flush, and it didn't actually look all that good)

I'll post a detailed install after I modify the BW reservoir with a proper cap/filler neck design.

Hey Chris, can you provide me with the inline filter part number. This has got me thinking about what you said..........It came with a filter, now I have removed it! Thanks.

Here you go.
The filter (1/2" barbs) is a little on the large side, so my original plan was to make a clamp to bolt it down to something, but I didn't succeed in finding a location that would accommodate the filter and the clamp.
However, the place I found seems good, and the filter housing is quite tough, so I'll keep a close eye on it for awhile. So far it has survived 5 sessions at Laguna Seca and still looks happy.

Davisca455 wrote

Here you go.
The filter (1/2" barbs) is a little on the large side, so my original plan was to make a clamp to bolt it down to something, but I didn't succeed in finding a location that would accommodate the filter and the clamp.
However, the place I found seems good, and the filter housing is quite tough, so I'll keep a close eye on it for awhile. So far it has survived 5 sessions at Laguna Seca and still looks happy.

Thanks, I was looking into this before your response and found this (Link). My question to you is the larger hose 1/2 and the smaller 3/8?. The one you used looks much more robust than the one I found. I don't track the car (Just dive hard) just looking for a line of defense since with the BW tank there is none.

https://www.cardone.com/product/20-0012f-power-steering-filter

irokwrx wrote

Davisca455 wrote

Here you go.
The filter (1/2" barbs) is a little on the large side, so my original plan was to make a clamp to bolt it down to something, but I didn't succeed in finding a location that would accommodate the filter and the clamp.
However, the place I found seems good, and the filter housing is quite tough, so I'll keep a close eye on it for awhile. So far it has survived 5 sessions at Laguna Seca and still looks happy.

Thanks, I was looking into this before your response and found this (Link). My question to you is the larger hose 1/2 and the smaller 3/8?. The one you used looks much more robust than the one I found. I don't track the car (Just dive hard) just looking for a line of defense since with the BW tank there is none.

https://www.cardone.com/product/20-0012f-power-steering-filter

I like that filter!
The hydraulic fitting that my BW kit came with has a 1/2" hose barb, and it was a bear to get my '08s OEM return line onto it. My guess is that the OEM hose is 12mm (.472" ID) which would explain why it's so difficult to get it onto a 1/2" hose barb.
I was able to more easily get the OEM hose onto the 1/2" barb of the filter, than the BW fitting.
I used 1/2" power steering hose between the filter and the BW fitting at the reservoir.

Same exact thing just happened to me. I spoke to Wyatt at Bimmerworld and they said they have never heard of this issue and instead suggested that I starved my PS pump due to incorrect bleeding procedures.

I installed a new PS pump anyway and I am still having the same issue. Pump bleeds fine and I have power steering until after a few minutes of driving, then it dies.

I've currently drained, flushed, and removed the entire system. I've blown everything out to make sure there are no clogs and everything is clear, but unfortunately I am still having the same issues.

I guess the next thing to do is to replace the steering rack.

You have to be careful with those pumps. The PS pump is a positive displacement rotary vane pump. The pump has tight clearances between the vanes and the end plates. If you send air through the pump...it will pump but the pump will cavitate and basically self-destruct. If you pulled the pump apart the end plates are probably gouged and the vanes are worn causing clearance between the vanes and end plates.

Those vane pumps don't take kindly to debris...not like a centrifugal pump.

Definitely want to spin the pump by hand before firing the engine up.