Car: 1989 260E
178,000 miles
Today, after a fairly short highway drive, my car began to run hot -- a steady 105 degrees or so -- as a result of sudden coolant loss. Upon opening the hood, I was shocked to see steam rising from the wiper fluid reservoir -- which was filled to the top with the very hot, "lost" coolant!
The coolant expansion tank was also sort of buzzing, as if under high pressure -- or perhaps negative pressure, and I additionally noticed saw that the plastic tube on the passenger side edge of the hood that feeds the washer jets was ruptured.
Before I pull out the tools, is the following diagnosis correct? :
I assume the washer fluid heating coil is ruptured as well, and I will try to fix or bypass it. This would explain why, when I refilled the washer reservoir about a month ago, I lost about 75% of it by the next day -- with no leakage to the ground. I assume it was sucked into the cooling system, and coolant was also being pumped back into the reservoir -- accounting for the unusually oily streeaking when I would use the washers.
From reading various threads here it seems bypassing the washer fluid heater coil is no big deal, but before I do that, is there anything else I should be considering?