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FCP Euro Service Kits

FCP Euro Kits

If you have a late 80’s to present BMW you likely have seen a similar looking depiction in your engine bay like the collage above. Almost all model BMW’s use a similar ZF manufactured power steering reservoir and finger grooved cap like the ones pictured. And like all of the ones pictured they often leak and build up a nasty residue around the base of the cap and throughout the reservoir body.
Luckily being so widely used it makes a replacement reservoir and cap very cheap and easy to replace, we will walk you through how this repair is done.
Our test subject today will be my personal 2008 BMW X3 3.0si, with the newer angled hose outlet reservoir, but again the procedure is the same for models with the original straight hose outlet reservoir tank.

We begin in the engine bay by removing the air intake duct from the radiator support by using a T27 torx bit on the 4 mounting screws. Then we can lift it out of the way and set it aside.

With that removed we can expose the 4 fastening screws for the rear air duct mounted in the support. We can then use a T27 torx on those as well.

We can then remove the duct and the air intake boot and set it aside.

At the rear of the air intake box, we can remove the connector to the air mass meter.

Then we can work on loosening the clamp for the boot that attaches the air intake hose to the air box. A standard flathead screwdriver works here.

Back at the air intake box we can remove the 4 spring clips holding both halves of the box together, either by hand.

Or with a flat head screwdriver.


With the box separated and the top half removed we can now remove the air filter.

We can now remove the bottom half of the box by pulling it off the retaining tabs.

Here is a closer look of the tabs you are pulling off.

At the reservoir, we can now use a T45 torx to remove the two retaining bolts for the bracket on the reservoir.


And then remove the 10mm bolt at the clamp securing the bracket to the reservoir.

Now using a syringe or in our case a baster, we can now syphon the fluid inside the old reservoir. We are careful not to drip any and are using a small bottle to pour in the old fluid.

After a few passes we began to see the screen at the bottom on the reservoir, so we used a T5 torx to remove the bolt for the screen and move it out of the way.

With the screen free, we can get the fluid underneath it using the baster.


With the reservoir emptied as best we could, we used a set of hose pinch pliers to clamp down on the suction hose.

Now with a set of snips we pried open the old hose clamp from the suction hose and removed it.


We moved that hose aside and repeated the process on the return hose.

With the hoses removed, we can drain what fluid remained in the old reservoir and set it aside.

We can now set the new hose clamps in place on their respective hoses.

And place the new reservoir into position.

And connect the hoses to the new reservoir.


Using an Oetiker clamp tool from Lisle we can crimp the new clamps into place securely.


And screw in the 10mm bolt for the bracket.


We then reassembled the air intake system and placed the box, filter, and hoses back into position.





Finishing with the connector for the MAF sensor.

We then moved to install the air ducts for the air box along the radiator support.

We filled our new reservoir with CHF11S fluid and left the cap off.

The final step is starting the car with the front wheels elevated slowly turning the wheel from lock to lock to rid the system of any air.

Once the system is rid of all air you will no longer see bubbles in the reservoir. We now know that we are good. All in all, an easy and quick way of replacing the power steering reservoir on most 90’s to present BMW’s and good for cleaning up the engine bay a bit.
The fluid in this system was relatively clean but I will likely be back to completely flush it of all the fluid and refill it. That will be a blog for another day.

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Written by :
Evan Madore

Writer/Editor at FCP Euro and owner of a daily R53 MINI Cooper, a track-built R53 MINI, and a 1997 Dakar Yellow E36 M3 Sedan. ••• Instagram: @evan.madore


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