good thinking thanks and i will employ trick I used to use on my wifes e46 that always had expansion tanks issues, over and over, sprinkle talcum powder. lightly over potential leak areas and any leak will show as a trail in the talc...will fill up tank again and try

Yup wpoll you are right leak is coming from the side of one of the pumps...gonna try epoxy it until i stick in new one

I'm guessing that the reason mine failed was it got to around -10 C the previous winter. Generally people don't change to cold rated fluid here in the Southwest.

The pumps are more vulnerable to freezing temps, I suspect, compared to the reservoir.

I see it got to -5 C in Nicosia this past winter. Probably colder at higher elevations.

www.realoem.com and use your last 7 digits of VIN to find parts for YOUR car. Then Google the part number to see who sells it.

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I had a leak in my E53s washer reservoir tank because it was becoming over pressurized. The strainer cap was missing beneath the fill cap. It also acts as a vent preventing the system from becoming pressurized.

new spray pump, new grommet, and JB Weld Epoxy fixed my reservoir leaks
 

I had a leak there also, caused by a mouse or a squirrel that chewed a small hole on the backside of the reservoir, unseen. I only found it when replacing the spray pump, a year after I got the X. I had thought the pump grommet was leaking, but it may have been leaking fom both places.

I'll never know if the hole was already there beforehand, but I added my "rodent deterrent package" to the X that day (mothballs/peppermint balls underhood, dryer sheets under the front seats, and bars of Irish Spring soap in the dide pockets of the trunk...all have worked in the past, and I use this method for all vehicles).

To seal the hole in the reservoir, I used this: J-B Weld 8277 WaterWeld Epoxy Putty Stick https://tinyurl.com/4msn69yf.

Totally respect all the input, here is what I did over the weekend , removed both pumps blew into bottom 'nipple' and could hear air coming out of the little square opening on one of the pumps...so aluminium taped it up, put back in and leak from that pump gone, but there was fluid under the second pump, removed that too and installed heatshrink on the lower shaft that sits in the rubber grommet/filter.....now so far so good no leaks (ps ordered the pumps anyway)

Hello, That aint my actual location but that of my ISP, I am at a coastal area lowest temp was 0 i think, and I always use a drop of washer fluid/detergent that I think would have prevented any freeze....but yes good thinking

In the end it was 1 pump leaking and the other was leaking where it mated with the grommet.....rodent deterrent packages eh? you know how many times i opened up front to see paw prints on engine cover, so we have a package to cater for the rodents but is concerning in other ways as don't fancy pulling out mangled cats from serepentine belts pulleys! haahaa

You might as well order a new pump for the one you taped up.