Just got a call back from MINI of Towson.

$1140 parts/labor to replace the PS Pump which has completely failed and the PS Fan which is 'running notchy'.

Take care your power steering folks.

 

Hi, my P/S pump got stuck on 3 weeks ago. I found a junkyard on Car-part.com that said they'd send me a low milage P/S pump one right out to me. It never arrived. I called today and they haven't even removed it from the car yet!

Can someone tell me where I can send my pump to have it rebuilt?

I need the Mini back. The gas prices are killing me in the old Pick-up I have for a back up vehicle.

 

The Price at this junkyard is $556.00 for a used one out of a 02 or 03 model. With a 2 year warranty, it's $695.00! That's crazy when the Stealership is selling them new for around $650.00.

 

That's what the Mini Dealer in Mahwah, NJ qouted me also.
Screw them. That's crazy. The fan is like 300 bucks installed, and they won't guarantee it unless they install it themselves. It's 2 nuts and a wire plug! But they want 90 bucks labor to install it.

BTW: There is no way to "take care" of these pumps. They all wear out.

Mini should redesign them and do a recall before someone gets seriously hurt when the P/S goes out on a tight turn like it did on mine. Lucky for me, I was paying attention when it quit on me.
Now it's stuck on all the time.
I'll look up the fuse someone suggested, see if that stops the motor.

 

Thanks, That was very helpful.

I found a link for all the fuses while I was looking it up.

http://www.murmini.com/pages/electrical

 

I'm trying to find out if the later model P/S Pumps are any better then the older ones.
I have an 03.
I see there is a difference in part numbers.
part no. 32 41 6 769 758 is up to March 2005

part no. 32 41 6 769 962 is FROM March 2005

Does anyone know if they fixed the problem in the older Pumps?
And is there a difference in pumps from the Mini S or the standard MIni?

 

I found this in anopther thread. :-)

Originally Posted by frenchie
BBA Remanufacturing, Inc.
300 Myles Standish Blvd.
Taunton, MA 02780

Toll Free: (866) 573-2740

This company will repair the pump for $200......with a warranty for as long as you own the car!

 

TTT.....am interested in an answer to Doggers question above, if anyone knows.....as my recently purchased '05 MC had a new pump put on in January this year [dealer/warranty]

would like to think it'll last.....?.......

Steve

 

Yeah.. I was thinking maybe they made 'em better.
Why the part number change if it's all the same ... crap?

 

[quote=Doggers;2137307]Originally Posted by MikeB035
MikeL - where did you locate the used pump?
I found mine on car-part.com. That is the best website I have found for used auto parts. It lets you search by state, region or nationwide.


Quote:
I believe mine has failed - fan still turns on but no power assist and fluid is still there. I want to consider an economical fix as my car is out of warranty. Its an 04 MCS with 56k and I've had it for two months. Also, how hard is it to replace? I'm fairly handy just less inclined to do work anymore and I'm in Dayton Ohio which is about an hour from a mini dealer in cincy or columbus. Thanks for any insight! Mike B
Yours has the same symptoms mine had but with 56K I wouldn't expect the brushes to be bad yet. It is pretty easy to replace. Here is how I did mine:

Tools and supplies needed:
10, 13mm sockets with ratchet and extension(s)
Medium side-cutters (6" or so) to remove the crimped hose clamp.
Floor jack and pair of jack stands
New hose clamp
Small screwdriver to release the tabs on the power connector
Medium screwdriver to install the new hose clamp
Drain Pan to catch the mineral oil
1L can of Pentosin CHF 11S
Optional: new O-ring for the high pressure line
De-greaser to remove spilled oil

Procedure:
1. Remove the two 13mm nuts that attach the fan bracket to the PS pump bracket

2. Disconnect the fan electrical connector and set the fan assembly aside.
** This would be a good time to check the fan to make sure it spins smoothly and easily.**

3. Remove the two connectors from the PS pump. - The small connector has one retainer that can be released by squeezing the tab toward the connector body. - The large connector has two tabs that need to be released by gently prying them away from the connector body. It is easy to break these tabs.

4. Remove the hose clamp from the hose that goes to the reservoir. Since it is crimped on it can be a PITA to remove. I have successfully at removed these by putting a screwdriver in the crimped area and prying the crimped area apart. YMMV

5. Remove the 13mm bolt that holds the high pressure line to the pump.

6. Position the catch pan to catch the oil that will spill when the hose is removed from the pump. - You may want to have some rags handy to keep the oil off the sub-frame. Clean up will be easier this way.

7. Remove the two hoses.

8. Remove the 13mm nut and the two 13mm bolts that attach the PS pump bracket to the sub-frame - The two bolts are visible (barely) at the rear of the sub-frame in the area of the down-pipe.

9. Drop the pump far enough to remove the wire retainer clip.

10. Remove the pump.

11. Remove the four 10mm nuts that hold the pump to the mounting bracket.

12. Installation is the reverse of removal.


The thing that was the most frustrating was the removal of the low pressure hose. Everything else was pretty straightforward. If you have everything ready to go, it should only take about 1/2 hour or so. Partly depends on how difficult it is to remove the hose clamp.

There are a couple of places that rebuild these pumps. The one closest to you is BBA-Reman. They are located in Taunton, MA and charge $200 to rebuild your pump. I have no personal experience with them though.[quote]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hey,
I just removed the old Pump.
First off, that Fuse # 39 or whatever..does not kill the Pump.
As far as I can figure out, nothing kills the old pump besides disconnecting it.
These directions above were very helpful, but not great. First off, I could not get the two clips off for the big wire plug. I disconnected the plug after I had the rest of it free. When it's out, it's simple to do. It's do-able while still mounted, but it's hard to work in that tight spot.
The Hose clamp came right off with a tiny screw driver head and a little twisting and leverage. I had that off in seconds.
The actual hose was a ***** to remove. It was really on there. I got it to spin, but sliding it off was tough. I used a pair of long nose pliers with a 90 degree bend in them to grab the hose and wiggle it off.
It was still a *****, but once I freed up the whole assembly, it came off a lot easier.

A boo-boo I made...My pump is stuck constantly on. I made a mistake of loosening the bolt for the metal hose. The hose was still in there, and in there pretty good. Then I needed to get access to the trunk to get to my special pliers. I hooked up the battery for a second and hit the unlock button for the trunk. The Pump was running for a few seconds and the Power steering fluid pressure pushed out the hose and fluid shot out all over the place. I had the catch basin there, but it still made a mess.
D'oh! (That's what rags are make for.) LOL
Besides that little mistake, the rest went easy. The bolts for the back of the mount are visible from down in back of the engine compartment. You'll need a 6 inch extention for the two 13 mm bolts.

So all in all, I had it out in about an hour. It would have went a lot faster if I didn't spend so much time trying to remove the big wires and the rubber hose while it was still mounted.

 

When does the cooling fan on the power steering run?
I jacked the car and ran the engine. It did not run.
steve

 

The fan on the power steering pump will run when the engine coolant temperature (ECT)reaches 233.6F.

At this temperature the engine radiator fan runs at high speed. It may be necessary to block the radiator with a piece of cardboard to get the temp to go that high, due to the engine radiator fan will turn on in low speed at a coolant temp of 221f.....when this happens the temp starts to go down and will not reach 233.6F which is required to engage the fan on the PS pump.

In the old days, one could place a jumper across the ECT sensor thereby simulating a high temp condition....with the current On-Boaard-Diagnostic (OBD) strategy...the Engine Control Module(ECM) would set a code if a jumper was used since this would make the temp read outside of the plausibility range....it may also make the fan run on high, since the ECM can no longer trust the information from the ECT sensor.....

If you are not familiar with electronics or troubleshooting cars I do not recommend placing a jumper across any sensor....just food for thought.
Hope this helps.

 

Doesn't it run when the AC is on?

Paul

 

You may be correct! I know it runs when the ECU commands the cooling fan to run in high speed.

Now that you mention it, the fans may also run in high speed when the A/C compressor is commanded on. Good thought!

 

The radiator cooling fan operates on Low speed when the AC is switched on and the system pressure reaches 8 bar . Should the AC system pressure rise above 18 bar , the radiator fan will automatically run on High speed. The PS fan will only run when the radiator fan is in high speed which requires a pressure of 18 bar from the A/C system.

Hope this helps.

 

I have an '06 MC and just yesterday noticed a fluid leak underneath. Determined that it was power steering fluid, and after reading this thread it sounds like it might be my PS pump, which seems to be a recurring problem.

I have around 38k miles. I can't remember the mileage for warranty coverage. Is it 50k miles, 40k miles?

TIA

 

Its 50k if you bought the extended warranty.

 

Wrong.... Standard Warranty on a Mini is 4 years/50k miles. Don't confuse the Free Maintenance/Service with the Warranty. The Free Maintenance/Service is 3 years/36,000 miles, but Warranty is 4 years/50,000.

If your at 38k, the power steering failure should be fully covered under the standard warranty.

 

^^ Thanks. I had to google it last night to learn it was 50k.


So far, no power steering loss, just fluid leak. Will see what they say when I take it in today.

I wonder if it's the rack.

Whatever it is, I hope they can fix it a day.

 

Mine went out in the 03 about a year ago. Bought part from classic mini and they shipped it to me with their 20% off discount. It came to about $320. Husband changed it out and will confirm the contortionist comment when changing it. Here in CA they wanted an additional $350 to do the labor and we just couldn't see paying it for a couple of bolts.

Good luck on your change out. Oh yeah, we bought the manual online for about $10 from eBay. Loaded it to the PC and have all diagrams and necessary info to make the change. It was definitely worth the $10.

 

TMGRobyn,

I just checked Ebay for Mini Cooper repair manuals. There are several "vendors" as well as a place in the UK that sells downloadable manuals. Could you direct me to the ebay item or vendor you purchased from? Some of the Ebay listings look a little questionable.

Thanks

 

I can't believe the number of postings regarding the PS issues. I have an 04' with under 42000k with pump failure. Nothing is worse when it the PS drains your battery and you have to jump it in the rain. Why hasn't there been a recall?

I had my Mini in the shop for a power drain a month ago and they said it was because the motor in the passenger door was faulty. It took coming to this site to get a bigger picture and understand what the *#$@ is going on. It would be nice if Mini owners with this issue could sign a web petition requiring that they (manufacturer) address the issue.

 

Is there any problem with running the car with the power steering pump fuse pulled? I mean, if you don't run the pump then essentially you wont wear it out...right?

Of course the obvious side effect is that you don't have power steering, but that isn't too bad.

 

Popeye forearms. Seriously though, no there is no problem running the car with the power steering pump off. Careful though, handling can be comprised, and bump steer can be downright brutal to correct if you're not use to a car without power assisted steering.

 

Is it not true that the steering column is not heavy duty enough to handle the stresses without the ps assist and the steering rack is likely to fail?