hello

i have a 2006 e350 which i bought new and hardly use and only has 15k miles. about 4 months ago i notice that i had to refill the windshield wiper solution several times in a month. now since i rarely use the car i said this cant be right there must be a leak somewhere. sure enough when i backed the car out of the garage i see several faint blue spots on the floor. since i was going to the dealer anyway for my yearly service, i asked the sa to look into it. she said they didnt find anything and service wanted to charge me $200 just to run a diagnostic on it. this is a wacky price just to tell me what may be causing this so i declined. now the funny part is is seemed to have stopped leaking for a few months until today. empty again. i thought about this and since dealer could not find a leak from just looking, could the problem be a bad solution pump? i believe there is some grommet there as well but i think they would have seen a leak if that was a problem

any suggestions would be appreciated

thanks

 

You'll need to pull the right side inner fender liner to have access to a windshield fluid reservoir. Probably the pump grommet is broken. Part number #1239973681.

 

just like coolant reservoirs that crack, my assumption would be that you have a cracked reservoir and should replace it.

 

the grommet is about $5 and i found the tank for about $60 ish.

do you guy think there is a chance it could be the pump? i found it for $30 oem new.

all 3 if i change it is already cheaper than the diagnostic mb service want to charge me by over $100 and this doesnt include repairing it

thanks again folks

 

Well, only way to know is to pull the inner liner and see. Otherwise it's just a guesswork.

 

why would it be the pump? If you add water does it squirt?

 

yes it does spray when filled, however, cant it leak and still able to squirt? saw one that leaked slightly on youtube is why i asked

 

I would go with @Heguli and @dvenneman suggestion: drop the wheel liner, check for wet areas and follow the trail to the source of the leak. If dry, refill the reservoir carefully not spilling any fluid, if leaking you should see the trail. Likely source:
1 - Cracked reservoir --> fast leak?
2 - Dry/worn out grommet --> slower leak?
3 - Pump leak --> even slower, but possible leak even if pumping. <-- These pumps short-circuit when corroded and leaked fluid where it should not. 4 - Recall you also have a level sensor --> another failure point for a leak.

Just be careful when taking parts out. Everything in there is plastic --> old and brittle. You do not want more broken components while fixing.

https://mbparts.mbusa.com/v-2008-mer...her-components

 

thanks,

slow and inetrmittant leak. dont use the car much as it sometime sits in garage for weeks. the blue stain on floor is already dried by the time i use the car. when i add washer solution, i leave the car sitting in driveway for a few hours with no hint of leakage. even mb service did not find a leak and they had it over night.

 

removed tire and fender liner.....it was the pump

thanks all