Plastic Welding Blown Coolant Reservoir

Car: 2005 BMW 330i

Part: Coolant Reservoir

Issue: Coolant system blow-out

I love the process of welding and fixing things on my own, which is why I own the best 110v stick welder for beginners. It’s perfect as I just began leaning welding 3 months ago. I recently taught myself plastic welding with much success.  It wasn’t pretty by far, but it held the heat and pressures of hot expanding radiator coolant!  I’m not talking that epoxy stuff either; I’m talking cutting a strip of similar plastic out of an old charcoal filter, sanding off the dirt, heat gun, and metal spatula.  Still going to replace the reservoir with a new one for reliability, but now I know I can do it.

Back-story:

Father-in-law’s 2005 BMW 330i gave up on holding coolant in.  We aren’t certain if the system wasn’t bled properly or not, but this is the second time in a year this has happened on this car. Luckily, this happened as soon as he pulled into the driveway.  Well, I pulled the tank and made some calls to get a new one.  There weren’t any in town with decent prices, and Autozone wanted over $220, and had to be shipped to arrive after 3-4 days.  Online, I could get one at my trusted www.thepartsbin.com for around $35, but that would take almost a week. Facebook and friends to the rescue!  A friend, Robert Duncan, told me about All Bimmers & Benzes nearby.  A quick call, and they have one in stock for under $80.  It was too late to pick up today, so off to pick up a new tank tomorrow.

Oh happy day.