my mom's mini (04 "S") it has 100k miles on it and is having a prob....her power steering is cutting in and out...sometimes she goes up a hill and can feel it cut out....doesnt affect it just makes it hard to turn for her....any idea's?

 

Is there enough fluid in the tank? Does the powersteering fan still spin freely?

 

the manual doesnt cover power steering...fluid type?amount?how do you read that dip stick on the cap

 

You will need "CHF 11s" power steering fluid. Do not put any thing else in the reservoir, none of the domestic car stuff will work. The only place I have been able to obtain this stuff was from a BMW or Mini dealer.
The dip stick in the power steering fluid reservoir has a single line inscribed on it. The level of the fluid should be up to this line. Wipe the dip stick dry, insert it back in the reservoir and screw it down, remove and read.

 

Have her bring it by, sounds like she'll need a pump.

 

well it doesn't have to be a pump, theres many other items that could be wrong with the system.

check the ps fan for binding, the fluid for leaks, the lower steering column joint for rust/binding, the output of the alternator(at least 13.9volts at idle), the connectors at the pump(sometimes they get corroded) and if all checks ok then replace the pump.

 

Yes there are several things that can cause this but in the Last 10 cars that came to the shop with the p/s inop the pump was faulty. Faulty pumps are becoming more and more common. That's why I say it will most likely need a pump and if it doesn't it he'll be one of the lucky ones, cause everything else is cheaper.

 

Yeah the pump is a big issue when it comes to power steering problems but i'm seeing more and more lower column joints binding up than pupms going bad.

 

here's a twist on those symptoms listed earlier... teaching my daughter to parallel park in her '03 VR/W CVT... had the car two months exactly, no problems at all. so we're out in front of the house with two cars parked on the street and she's practicing getting between them... did this probably 5 or 6 times; lots of wheel turning, all the way left, all the way right, repeat, etc., etc., etc.

after about the 5th or 6th time the power steering just quit. the steering wheel was extremely hard to turn in that situation.

I got in and pulled it out onto the street, drove down the street just a few car lengths, and everything's fine.... drove around the block, no problem at all.

came back and started parallel parking again and right away the power steering quit again.

we pulled into the driveway, I looked under the hood, no funny noises, no belts flopping around, nothing dripping under the car... I did check the PS fluid and it's a little low... it's just shy of touching the dip-stick... when I look in the reservoir I can see fluid in there, looks clean and clear from what I can see... just doesn't look like enough.

drove around the block again, no problems at all, power steering's fine, no noise, no nothing...

has this happened to anyone else? does this sound weird? does this suggest something more than being low on PS fluid?

thanks.

 

Goodwood, that sounds to me like power steering pump failure. Is the pump making a loud whine when the steering wheel went stiff?

 

No, no whine at all. No other odd noises either. As soon as we quit the parallel parking exercise (lots of work for the PS system, very little movement of the car... easy to visualize an awfully hot situation under the hood.

I'm thinking overheating fan, just from what I read on another thread after I read this one.

Anybody else?

 

Uh, not to nit-pick but Pentosin CHF11s is not "power steering fluid," it's hydraulic system fluid, and quite pricey. I found some at NAPA, but I had to call around, you may want to try dealers that cater to heavy equipment and construction. About $35/litre.

Also, if yr PS level is down, but you dont see any fluid on the ground, then U may have blown a seal within the bellows. My S did this at 15K and the whole rack had to be replaced to the tune of nearly $1,400 inc 4 wheel alignment. Good luck. All the problems with this electro-hydraulic steering system (a Rover holdover) in the 02-06 models is the reason why BMW dumped it in favor of all electric.

 

Pentosin CHF11 is available from auto parts stores that specialize in VW/Audi parts for much less than the cost at dealerships. In Portland, OR I recommend Halsey Import Parts Distributing or Discount Import Parts.

Goodwood: It sounds like the pump is overheating due to being worked harder than normal. I believe the pump does have an overheat protection circuit.

 

Hey, so that's good news for me if you're right about the overheat-protection circuit...

I'm overheating it when I do that parallel-parking exercise over and over, therefore the circuit turns off the PS pump? So, I just don't do that anymore and all's well!

Hope you're right... makes sense... never any other PS problems before now, none when we stop the parallel-parking exercise.

She gets her license today, wish her luck, and let's hope she doesn't have to parallel park as part of her driving test.

Thanks for the input.

 

You can get it all over ebay for under $25 shipped to your door.

 

good info to know, unless one does not eBay--and yes there are folks that don't. It's about $28 at a local Caterpillar supply store.

 

sequence, your signature makes me cringe.

 

yeah I liken my S to a problem dog named "Rover," something you want to get rid of, but U love so much you can't. Mine is also an early build 2005, and for some reason many cars built in the first couple months of 2005 production (July and August 2004) have had their share of problems. But not all: my friend has an S built the same week as mine in Aug 04, and other than a clutch cable snapping and some terribly noisy dash rattles, she's had zero problems with 84K on the clock. Go figure.

 

amazon.com sells Pentosin for $24.95 plus shipping.

I just bought some at my local MINI dealer for $29.59, and they're 3 miles from me... no shipping charges.

not as hard to find as you might think.

 

FYI, I paid $23.24 (shipped) via ebay.

 

good to know... when you're not in a hurry for some.

 

What does a power steering pump cost to replace?

 

wow, i just paid 42 OTD for 1 L @ my Mini dealer today.

 

I just got mines for $448.99+ shipping this wk

 

I haven't found one for less than $600 or so.