Picked up a 2003 liquid yellow MCS a few months ago and just love it, I've wanted a MINI for many many years but with kids and life it just never happened. Well the kids are all grown up and I get to be a kid again and drive something that makes me smile everytime I get in it, except when the power steering pump doesnt want to shut off when I turn the car off, guess I'll be heading to the dealer in SLC soon to get that fixed.

My name is James and I live in Boise Idaho and look forward to hangin out on this site.

 

Your 03 Copper S falls under the lifetime waranty for the power steering pump, I am not sure if it includes the electric fan. Compared to the cost of the pump he fan is the cheap part of that helps. Picked up an 03 MCS as well a few months ago under similar conditions (sans children) and have done a lot of work including motor mounts and crank pulley as well as rotors and pads. The next project next week is changing out shocks for Koni yellows and replacing the rear sway bar with a Hotchkiss bar. How many miles and what mods have been done?

 

It has 125k on it only mods are an AFE cold air intake and a Magna flow exhaust system that were on it when I bought it. I will be doing rotors/ pads on it soon as well. Everything else works great but the PS pump that likes to continue to run sometimes, I just have have to put the key back in and turn the car on but not start it and crank the wheel from stop to stop and then the pump shuts down might just be a pressure relief valve sticking? Closest dealer is in Salt Lake City to get the pump replaced under the recall and I haven't had time yet to waste a couple days on the trip.

 

Ah, yes, but the 80mph Interstate speed limits in Idaho and Utah make the trip much more enjoyable, especially in a MINI. And the folks at MINI of Murray are really nice to deal with.

Congratulations on your MINI acquisition and may you have many miles of smiles ahead!

 

+1

 

The power steering pump is belt driven----what is running after you shut the car off?

 

Definately get that power steering pump fixed as soon as possible. Failures like the one you described have been known to cause fires in the past.

On the first gen cars the power steering pump is driven by an electric motor instead of the engine.

 

Welcome to NAM, James and the world of MINI motoring. You have many years of grins ahead of you. Picked up an '04 R53 this past Spring and it's a hoot. Definitely call your closest dealer and have that pump fixed. Check our website for service & maintenance guides to help you keep her purring. Performance upgrade guides there too. Any questions, please let us know!

Drive Hard. Drive Safe. Keep Grinning.

 

I keep the battery disconnected when it's not being driven. which with as much as I have been out of town for work is quite often. I will hopefully have time to run down to SLC before the snow flies and get it all taken care of.

 

Hi and welcome to nam. Lots of useful information here to keep it running for the long haul!

 

here it is the day I got it from the auction

 

I learned something this morning---I did not realize that the Mini has electric steering and I now stand corrected.

 

Hi, it is electric hydraulic. It uses an electric motor to run the pump! The cooling fan hopefully keeps it working, as there are recalls on many gen 1 cars.

 

Hi, The steering is electric hydraulic. It uses an electric motor to run the pump! The cooling fan hopefully keeps it working, as there are recalls on many gen 1 cars.

 

Since the power steering unit is electric why did they put it in such a risky position???

 

The pump itself isn't in too bad of a position (though the fan can sometimes be damaged). What happens is a short circuit develops inside the pump. There is a relay withing the pump itself which is what controls when the pump is on. Since the pump is constantly provided with live power this means that it can become stuck on. When the car is tuned off there is nothing cooling the pump while it is on which can sometimes result in fires.