Hello All!

Before I get started, I wanted to say that this is a wonderful site, and I'm glad to be a part of it. I do not own a Mini, but a friend (with no mechanical knowledge what so ever) has one, and I get tapped from time to time for assistance.

Such is the case again...

Tried searching for an answer to this, but no luck.

The car is an '06 Mini, and she had the dreaded power steering pump and fan failure (that's how I found the site). Since she didn't have the $1200 quoted for the repair, I decided to take a crack at it. She purchased the pump and fan online, and got them to me. The replacement was uneventful, given the help I found here on this forum.

Here's the issue - the car's power steering still doesn't seem to be working right. She says it's much, much better than it was, but still takes too much effort. I took more time to bleed the power steering system again (I did it once upon completing the pump changeout) and she says that its improved more, but still not right.

I didn't see any glaring issues, everything's connected, no leaks, in fact the replacement went smoother than most of my car projects (I have a musclecar sickness). I spent ALOT of time slowly and carefully bleeding the power steering again, but after driving the car I have to agree with her, it doesn't seem right.

So - 2 questions:

1. Where to start looking? I checked all the power steering fuses I could find, no issues.
2. I noticed that the little fan for the power steering pump wasn't running, should it be?

Can someone help a musclecar guy out? Thanks in advance!

Scatter'd

 

The fan does not run all of the time but will come on if the AC is on- you can check it by turning on the AC.

I don't know what else could be wrong with the power steering itself, was the pump new or rebuilt?

 

New pump. Keep those replies comin'...

 

Did you use Pentosin CHF 11S power steering fluid? Did you bleed the car on jackstands or on a bunch of magazine pages?

 

Correct fluid, bled on jackstands...

 

The feel is hard to describe... The efffort required to turn the wheel isn't constant. The level of resistance changes. Almost like it has air in the system, but I bled that thing forever...

 

Check the steering u-joint:

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...pump-help.html

 

wrh3 - Thanks, I'll look into this.

 

Ladies and gents, the verdict is in. The culprit was indeed the lower steering shaft, in combination with the power steering pump. All the advice you need to change both is located here on this forum, so thanks to all for the replies. Tehe only addition I would make would be to remove the cover from the bottom of the steering column when changing. It's only 2 Torx head screws, and it will make your life much easier.

Thanks to all of you for the help!!!

Scatter'd