This is what I found after my power steering just "quit"!!

No warning no smell, nothing. Parked it at work, came out to go home, no power steering.

I was lucky it wasn't in my garage or started a car-be-que.

It took out all lines, hydraulic and electric, fan and pump of course.

MINIUSA basically said "Bummer".


So if it only took some people 3.5hrs to replace their pumps, they indeed got luckier'en me.



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Dude. That sucks.

However, be very glad you're not posting in this thread...

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...bay-fires.html

...because I don't think you missed it by much.

Fear not -- according to the well-socialized NHTSB report, this is merely what is known as "..a localized smoldering condition..."

 

I do consider myself very lucky, I think if the wind conditions were a little different that day, I would have needed a fire truck!



I chaulk it up to MINI-ness experience.


That " localized smoldering condition" would have cost someone else about $1500 in parts and labor (best case). I wouldn't want to think what the worst case could have been....

 

Thanks all for the tips, I did this over the weekend on my '05 MCS with 115k miles (not sure if it is the original pump or not, I am the 2nd owner). I also replaced the fan and added the OE fan duct/front panel. Start to finish was about 2 hours, including time to take pics.

I put together a DIY guide with pics on my website:

http://www.billswebspace.com/MiniR53PSPFanDuctDIY.htm

I have more info on my Mini website as to where I sourced the parts/supplies from (that's why it is not included in the DIY write-up):

http://www.billswebspace.com/mcs.htm

 

Bill, max kudos to you. This is hands down the best DIY for swapping out the pump that I've seen anywhere.

Thanks to these instructions correlated to all of the explanatory pics, I'm psyched to take on this challenge when the time comes (as I know it will eventually). This is also the first I've seen someone produce an actual part number for the high pressure O-ring.

Appreciate the source info too.

 

Bill - you sir, have wayyy too much time on your hands...
Your write up on the pump change makes mine look like I barely knew what I was doing (although quite true) - I will continue to monitor your site for additional info on mods we may attempt in the future.

Thank you for your input!

 

Have a question if anyone is out there....we purchased our son a 2003 mini beautiful car, when we bought it the previous owner said that every now and then the power steering goes out but he thinks that it is a software update that Mini offers but he said when it happens you turn the car off then on and its fine...it does happen from time to time no distinctive rhyme or reason you turn the car off then on and it has power steering again...no odd noise noting....if anyone can suggest anything much appreciated

Thanks
Walt Ostarly

 

I know nothing of a software update that would address this. Your symptoms suggest a classic case of degenerative pump failure. I imagine there is something shorting out on the controller card internal to the pump assembly casing. You'd be shocked to see how much motor brush dust and goo can accumulate over seven years in that thing.

If it were happening to my MINI, I'd be getting it checked out ASAP. No need to let this end up with a total failure (and loss of control) while driving, blown fuses, smoked wiring, or worse yet a fire. Better to be safe than sorry.

 

Not necessarily a disaster. Could be that the cooling fan no longer works and the pump gets to hot. could me the more typical failing wires and plugs. Do check it as my 03 did almost caught fire due to the bad wire thing.

 

For the help

 

I will def check it out

 

I changed out my PS pump over the weekend and I have to thank DMBFan2 for his step by step DIY instruction. After reviewing his procedure I was confident enough to tackle this project. I bought a remanufactred PS pump from BBA-Reman. And I have a few questions - the thermostat that activates the PS fan, where is it located and at what temp. does this trip the PS fan. I checked the fan (it spins freely) and I checked the fuse (#41 in the driver side interior control panel) and it's fine. I want to be sure that the PS fan is operating correctly, don't want the new pump to fail.

I'm very happy that I was able to take on this project and same a pant load of $$$ not having to go to a mechanic or the dealership....this site is a valuable resource for all MINI owners.

If anyone needs help with a project like this and lives around the Webster,MA area I would be more than happy to help out.

Regards,
Mark

 

Walt,

The exact same thing happened to my wife's 03 Mini. We let it go for about two months just because she works 10 minutes from home. The removal/installation instructions are very accurate and the job is pretty easy. No special tools required. If you can operate a wrench, you can do this. Make sure that you purchase the right amount of power steering fluid when you buy a refurbished power steering unit. It should take a few hours if your not familiar with vehicles. While your under the vehicle, make sure you check wire connections, hoses, etc. If you have ANY questions at all this is the right place to ask them. There is always someone "surfing" these blogs, so a response should be quite fast.

Best of Luck.

 

Thanks to all that posted on this thread. I just finished pulling my pump, blowing out the accumulated brushes dust and reinstalled. Worked fine. The brushes were half used after 135K miles. The dust was massive.

I loosened the bracket holding the pump, disconnected the high pressure line (pretty easy with help of thin screw driver), disconnected the low pressure line at the reservoir. Figuring out how to get the pump out was challenging, so...a tip is that the end on the passenger side will dip after moving slightly towards the passenger side. A few twists and wiggles, it comes out, but not with much clearance at all.

The best price I was finding on a new pump was $622 + core. There was no rebuilt available that I could find. I could send the existing in for a rebuild, but $300 was the price. The thing is, they would likely just replace brushes and clean it up, which sort of seems like a racket to me. I'd hate to think what the dealer would have charged to put in a new one....

 

This thread is giving me the confidence to DIY my new pump. I haven't really worked on my own car since the late 90's. But had plenty of experience up til then. I have the tools. I'll report back.

 

Okay, i figured i'd post it under this topic to ensure this is infact what is wrong with it.

Basically, one day the car started squealing VERY badly and after about a month or so of ignoring it (i know, bad on my part) the belt just broke and the car overheated. So i got the belt replaced, and i replaced something else so on and so fourth. Once all that was replaced (i know i was very vague but im still not sure WHAT i replaced the second time) but after all that was fixed the squealing did not stop and a fan mysteriously turned on so i simply said you know what never mind, because none of my local mechanics could find out what was wrong with it, i disconnected the battery and let the car sit there and just drove my truck.

Well, the trucks sparks went out so i switched back over to the Mini, well i was disconnecting the battery and reconnecting it whenever i got in there. Well one day the fan that wouldn't turn off, just turned off. I was a bit baffled, but the squealing is still there and it gets ALOT worse when the AC is on, so i dont run it ever which is a very bad thing for me considering i live in Georgia.

So is the Power Steering Pump what is wrong with my car, if not, can somebody point me in the direction for what IS wrong with it :\

 

Definitely not the power steering pump. The power steering pump in the Mini is driven by an electric motor which is under the car.

Although this is not a bad thought because in most cars the power steering pump is driven by a belt and if the power steering pump starts to fail the belt often breaks.

So that leaves the alternator, the air conditioning compressor and a tension pulley as the likely culprit. Since it gets worse with the A/C on, I would bet money that the A/C compressor pump is failing or has failed.

Good luck,
Jon

 

The tension pulley is the other thing that was replaced when i got the belt fixed, It really sucks cause the nearest mini dealer is 2 hours away, and im scared to drive the car due to overheating (and the GA weather DOES not make it better).

I'll look into the ac compressor pump and i'll let you know!

 

Thanks for the write up.
I just wanted to give others a heads-up on my issues: The orange silicone o-ring that is on the housing somehow stretched and put me in a significant jam.
I was able to source a similar smaller silicone o-ring and I'm going to try and stretch it into position. I will have to add a couple of dabs of RTV to hold it in place so it doesn't hop out of the groove (since it's a smaller diameter)

 

I ended up carefully cutting the old o-ring at one of the three screw points and putting a tiny dab of RTV at the joint. It should be fine. I'm just disappointed that the o-ring stretched in the first place. I wouldn't have done the service without planning a replacement o-ring.

 

I just had mine replaced at the dealer for free because it's a known fault. Under 130k miles? Call 1-800-ASK-MINI and they will help you understand the problem.

- Have your VIN number handy. They base the availability of the fix off of this.
- Be prepared to drive to an actual dealer (In Maine the nearest one is NH)

Once you get the okay from MINI call a dealer:

-Explain that the power steering is failing and you have talked to mini customer service. (You will likely be emailed a customer service code if you decide on email contact from the MINI website instead of phone)
-Set up a repair time
-It's about a two hour repair for them
-The Bedford, NH Mini dealer is brand new and nice. Plus there is an iHop to grab food at while you wait.

Hope this helps some folks out.

 

Hi,
Really need some help here!
Kudos to Bill, I followed your guide on your site - much better than the Haynes manual.
I've gotten through what I thought were all the tricky bits but I've met a dead end on something that should be simple - I just can't get the suction/return hose to slide down far enough onto the pump's fitting.

Any tips - I've been pulling, pushing, applying power steering fluid as lube (eeek!) for ages now but it will only slide down about half way.

(I've also posted this in another thread, my excuse is that the answer will help others that hit the same issue whether swapping pumps or hoses - and I really need this car moving again soon!)
TIA

 

The way i did it was or at leas this is how i think i remember doing it. .... .dont put the pump on till you have that hose on so you can really push down on it. Then I put it on then feed the hose back up. I remember it being a pain in the **** to get on. But damn it felt good after it was finished.

 

If anyone even still checks this...There is now a recall out for the PS pump. Take it to the dealership and it will be replaced for free, no matter the year or miles.

 

Do you have any more information on that? Does it even included the 2006 model?