Greetings all,

Just purchased a, new to me, '06 Mini yesterday with 49,000 miles. Been a BMW owner for many years and have always appreciated the Mini and finally picked one up. Very much enjoying the car. One question for all of you experts.

It sounds as though there's a bit of a whine coming from the engine compartment. It changes when I rotate the steering wheel. Not super loud but you can hear it clearly. From what I've read my car would not be under the steering pump recall.

So my question...

Is a bit of a whine normal or could the power steering be low on fluid and or having an issue?

Thanks much

 

Welcome to the MINIacs!

As for the whine under the hood... there is a good whine; the one that comes from the supercharger when you have your foot in it, (for me I hear that one just about all the time) and there is the bad whine, like the power steering pump, yes, check the fluid level, these are known to develop leaks at the connectors at the pump and dribble. You can check by looking at the pavement (or slide a sheet of cardboard under the engine) after parking the car over night.

The Power Steering Pump is an electric drive pump, it has an electric fan that cools the assembly, you can check the fan to ensure the blade spins freely and doesn't grind or bind. additionally inspect to ensure the fan does not strike the shield.

You can also log in at the MINI USA website and under the Owners tab you can find more information like this... Check to see if there are any open recall work due on your car...

http://www.miniusa.com/content/miniu...rt/recall.html

...before this turns into a rant...

Check your fluid, check for leaks, check your fan, and if it appears to be an issue have your favorite Tech check it out.

Happy Motoring!

 

Will do. Thanks.

 

Here's a cheap, permanent/temporary, reversible fix: Condor PS Pump Delete Kit:
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...able-soon.html

They're big in the bimmer world. You must've heard of them.
Here's their site:
http://www.condorspeedshop.com/colle...teering-delete

 

Got under the car today. Steering pump cooling fan is shot - completely frozen so I've removed it. Also put the stethoscope up to the pump with it running - it's loud so I'm assuming it needs to be replaced as well, though it does seem to work ok. Have no idea how long the fans been shot. No leaks that I can see and the power steering reservoir has the proper amount of fluid.

Appreciate the thought about doing the pump delete but I'd like to keep the power steering. I've been searching around and found BUYAUTOPARTS.com. They have a deal on Ebay for a remanufactured pump and cooling fan for $430 with a 1 year warranty. Curious if anyone has used them. Plan on calling the local dealer (Knauz Mini) tomorrow to see what a new replacement will be but guessing it will be big $'s.

Thanks

 

The pump does whine to a degree even when new . Before doing any replacement with the exception of the damaged fan I would hold off until you have heard a few other minis . Even a perfectly good PS system has a noticable whine so don't be overly concerned until you have sampled a few .

 

Pumps whine a bit....get a new cooling fan...
Run it till it dies....
Then get a LIFETIME rebuilt pump from NAPA....think they are running $475....

 

ebg338, I think that your PS pump will still be covered under warranty. I think Mini has extended it to 10 years/130000 miles. Might want to check before dropping the $$ on a new pump out of pocket...
Worth asking the dealer...
Kaveman

 

Only car production up till the end of 2004 (so some 2005 models) were covered....