Hi all, Recently my PS pump started being super super loud. I took it to the dealer and they replaced it under an extended warranty.

The new (re-manufactured) pump they put in still seems to be noisy. Not extremely loud. But you can hear it over the engine idle while parking or turning.

I've been reading and some say its just normal and they are just loud pumps. Just seems odd to me.. always get the feeling the car is about to break whenever I drive it.

Are there any remedies to quiet down the pump somehow?

maybe I will contact the dealer again and make sure their work is holding up.

 

I've always been told they're just loud. Mines been loud for the last 3 years.

 

Yup, mine whines like a sad puppy.

 

My first one was loud and got progressively louder until it decided to be quiet forever in the middle of a group run . The new remanned one has some noise but not much. I get the feeling its pretty common and some are louder than others.

 

Well most people don't recommend remanufactured pumps. But my replacement that I bought from way motor works when my first one died is very very quiet. They say the newer ones are quieter which is what I think I got. Btw in my car there is a pamphlet of mini quirks that came with it...one of them is the power steering pump

 

I had mine replaced for about $1000 parts/labor last week. I wasn't having any issues with the steering, but the whine was loud; you could hear it across the parking lot if only because it's so high pitched. It's not cool to enter/leave a parking lot or driveway when your car is making a sound no one's even heard before.

I almost went with a remanufactured pump which is allegedly lifetime guaranteed and DIY'd the install, because I knew it was going to cost me $$$ for a new pump. However, my previous DIYs have led to things getting broken, so I decided to have it done professionally. Probably an ostentatious thing to have done to a preowned R50, but I rationalize it partially by telling myself it would have died at some point anyway.

Based on my own research and what my mechanic told me, a fluid flush might eliminate or quiet the noise, the idea being that the noise can come from having air in the system. I never tried this so I don't know if it works or helps.

 

fLUID IS SPECIFIC FOR THE PUMP AND EXPEN$IVE!!!!

 

$22 for fluid isn't exactly cost prohibitive...

 

The DIY isn't that bad..it takes a few hours. As far as the install price $1000 seems a little high for 1-2 hours labor plus parts but if hoses were replaced too..maybe. If I had to do it again I could probably get it down to 1.5 hours. Maybe.

$600 pump
$90 hoses
2x$100 labor
Fluid $22

Taxes

$1000 Yeah it's possible.

 

It's almost 200 for a fluid flush from the dealer. It's 22 dollars per litre.. I just has it done when the new pump went in. So I think it's safe to say that new fluid wont quiet it down. Unless my lines let in air somewhere.. Which is possible I suppose.

 

It was $731 for the pump and three hours of labor. I wasn't surprised about the price of the pump... Allegedly it's not remanufactured, but new. I wouldn't know how to check. Maybe they overcharged on labor, but they also did a couple small things I asked for without increasing their quote, so it kind of evened out.

The problem with DIYs is that I don't know what I'm doing... I've never worked on cars until recently. I'm basically just following a tutorial (sometimes multiple tutorials) as best as I can, which is fine up to the point that I might have to troubleshoot.

There have been several times where the tutorial wasn't 100% accurate to what I have even though it was for an R50. The production split in 2004s doesn't help.

And there have been a couple of times in recent history that I broke something under the hood. The most recent of which required me to have my MINI hauled out on a stretcher... And while it was at the shop I asked for a PS pump replacement.

Even the DIYs I would have said were successful have had *some* kind of casualty, some fixed with super glue and others a $100 part.

If I had a backup vehicle then I'd be a lot more adventurous, but when I screw up, I'm grounded.

 

I don't think there is a lot you can screw up with this one but again its comfort level -- i would not be comfortable doing a clutch for example on these cars. I don't have enough tools, a lift, any of that stuff to make dropping a subframe easy.

I also do not have a backup vehicle...so I hear you. This weekend I am going to tackle my upper strut mounts -- I am expecting to have to drill out the pinch bolt -- so I have pre-emptively purchased hardened for metal drill bits, bolts, nuts and washers, anti-seize etc.

The job should take 45 minutes -- if I have to drill it could take 4 hours per side.

I would start small -- oil change, things like that (you can screw one up btw -- threads etc.. can get messed up). For me right now I am time rich and money poor... so its worth it -- plus I enjoy it.

Good luck either way. Price is a bit high on the pump but thats the dealer price.

 

If you have access to a rack it makes the clutch much much easier and you can tilt the engine on a transmission jack ( when everything is disconnected ) and pop the transmission out the side on the "Justa Cooper".

Doing the PS pump you just have to reach into a small space and then watch the PS lines and keep things clean.

For the PS pump all the ones we carry are re-manufactured as they have a core charge from Genuine MINI and ZF.

Did you replace the Fan also?

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32416857718/ES2558179/


Make sure is spins freely.

 

My power steering pump because very loud about a month after I purchased my 2006 Mini. I keep waiting for the pump to fail but it has hung in there 2 more months. It's very annoying and concerning that it may fail at any time.

My Mini dealer quoted over $1300 to replace the pump. The new pump alone was over $800. I'll probably just buy a remanufactured pump and give it a try myself. However, I'm not a mechanic and my car projects seem to take about 8 times longer than they should, so I guess I am in for an adventure.

 

I did my first oil change a few days ago. It was messy, and there were a few stumbling blocks. The new filter (Mann) was snug compared to the filter I replaced. Thought I had the wrong filter because it took so much force to get it on. The previous filter slipped on and off, and its O-Ring was tight. This filter was the opposite -- it was hard to get the filter on but the O-Ring slipped on... But all my research indicated it was for my 2004 R50 so I went with it. Also installed a Fumoto, but in trying to get it on, rounded off the hex fitting at the end which prevented me from tightening it as much as I would have wanted.

Spark plugs and wires, air filters, were dead simple.

Serpentine belt... I did get the belt on, but broke the engine mount bracket ($100) in the process of trying to remove a ground cable. (None of the tutorials I read said anything about removing a ground cable -- but it was in the way of what I needed to do.) This was a big deal, as the ground cable is essential for the alternator to function. I had my ground cable attached via C-clamp while I waited for the new bracket, which made it very hard to close my hood. I think the headlamp assembly hitting that clamp messed up the alignment of my headlights somehow, which I have yet to approach, but should be fixable. And I never found the time to install the tensioner I bought.

Most recently, I tried to seafoam my car by following a video for an R50, and broke my PVC vent hose. In the video, the guy's hose looks super pliable like it's rubber, but mine was way more brittle and snapped like a fortune cookie.

Maybe it's the age of some of this stuff... 9 year old car exposed to varying temperatures; the integrity probably falters and the parts are probably easier to break than when they were brand new.

The last flub was fairly demoralizing and had me second-guessing my future as a DIYist. But then what do I do with this arsenal of tools I've accumulated?

 

Mine was pretty loud but didn't show any signs of failing... I'm curious how long it would have lasted if I hadn't replaced it and just dealt with the noise. Just saying, it might not be ready to give up the ghost just because it's noisy.

Granted, you might prefer to replace it now than have it die on you on the road. Having experienced having to drive without the power steering (alternator problem) I can say that it's not fun but it's manageable enough that you could at the very least carefully reach your destination, head back home, or find somewhere to park.

 

My fan wasn't replaced. If it does go within the next 70k, and i expect it to, it will be covered for free by the dealer. I suspect that air has gotten into the system because I do have two lines that leak slightly. I cannot afford to fix atm so I told the dealership to just leave them til later and I'll have a friend do it for me. When i got the car back from the dealer the pump was silent.. now a month later its pretty noticeable. school = no $$$

 

In Canada btw, the Pump and fan are covered for 200,000km or 12 years

 

Ok, I knew Canada extended there coverage , I just did not see you were from there.

If you can find the leak, this is were they typically leak:
You can replace the clamps if there is a leak at the return line. They go the top and bottom of the line: #2 those are the one that leak on the upper line.



One for the bottom and one for the top:
http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32111131345/ES51766/


http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32416754498/ES54931/


&


On the return line its at the top also. #14 in diagram

http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/16121180242/ES36557/




http://www.ecstuning.com/Search/32416781744/ES55231/


Hope that helps you out with the leaks for now.

Thanks

 

Hey, thanks for that. I need to check it out myself or have my friend look at it at his shop. I feel like my dealer always tries to make me buy parts I don't really need. maybe just the clamps are letting go.. and the hoses are fine.

 

all those parts above is 100 dollars cheaper than the same parts from the dealer.

**EDIT**

I found the quote from the dealer. Only the hose from res to rack needs to be replaced apparently... and the quote is $380.00 plus tax lol