No update yet. Silence is communicating w/ a potential donor. Once one is had, a prototype won't take long.

 

My 05' MCS has 45k miles and the power steering pump has already been replaced once. It is starting to go out again... (Getting Louder as the weeks go on). I tried to take it apart and refurb it, which did help but I can tell it's still straining.

Kindof a noob question but what is "looping the lines" in the steering rack? I would love to convert to manual steering but would definitely need some help here.

 

It may be covered under warranty. You might even be able to get your first replacement reimbursed if you paid for it yourself.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ml#post3744289 (post #298)
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...p-failure.html

 

Looping is simply connecting the 2 holes of the rack so fluid & air can pass freely from 1 side to the other when turning. Here are the 2 holes that need to be connected:


If you notice our rack doesn't have those 2 holes aligned on the same plane, so this e30 flat looping block won't fit on ours:

 

I'm always surprised to hear how quickly the pump is dying on some of these other MINIs.

I keep waiting for mine to go out - it's been noisy for as long as I can remember. Going on 11 years and 144k miles on the original pump and it's still going strong. A mechanic did some repairs back around 106k miles to stop some leaks in the pump and lines. I wonder if his work is what's keeping it going...

 

Hmmm. Factors:
1. Luck
2. Heat or less of, more likely due to a working fan on most of the time
3. Driving habits; probably less stationary steering when parking, less twisties?
4. Vigilance on leaks
5. Exposure to snow, rain & dust? But this is a sealed system....still, condensation might be a factor????
6. Proper CHF11S fluid
7. Constant use is better than long garage time.

Whatelse can you think of?

 

I already checked a while back to see if it was covered. It isn't
My pump was replaced back in 08 when the car had 15k miles. It now has 45k miles and it's going out again. I called the safercar.gov place and filed a complaint. She said out of the 300ish complaints with this year make and model, 175 of those are about the power steering. She says it looks hopeful they will do something about it. If they don't I'm converting to manual steering. Thanks for the info, I'm glad I called and filed a complaint.

Here's what my car sounded like just before I took apart the pump and cleaned it. It's still loud after I cleaned it, just not THIS loud.

 

Hmm, my warranty papers say the pump is warranted for all model year 2002-2005 MINI Coopers up to 150k miles or 13 years, whichever comes first. I would think an '05 with your mileage would certainly be covered?!

BTW, your link is only visible when replying - I checked it out. The sound is different than what mine makes. Mine is a much higher pitched whine when turning the wheel, and it's been that way for as long as I can remember.

 

Hard to say. It probably is mostly just luck. Car wasn't all that well maintained until about 100k miles. Pump was almost starved of fluid around that time, but the mechanic caught it just in time.

Now it is very well maintained and I check the fluid regularly. Replaced all the power steering hoses a few years ago, and check the fan whenever the car is up on jack stands for an oil change or other work. I'm kind of hoping it goes out before the warranty runs out so I don't have to foot the bill, but if it lasts longer, so be it...

 

I don't know why the video pops up twice. Sorry guys! but yeah here is the video.

 

I think #1 might be the winner here, unfortunately. I've never checked the fan or protected it has many have done. My MINI has resided in a canyon its whole life. She has seen tons of twisties. This is a rural, dustier area compared to an urban setting. It was not garaged for 10+ years, sitting in the elements, with canyon temps seeing lows in the teens and highs 100 degrees more. I did change the fluid once (proper stuff). At around 70k miles, she is not driven much. Generally, once or twice a week. Yet, mine has experienced no issues, yet...

And it certainly does not sound like that! Wow.

Preventive maintenance though sounds prudent. Also, the feel of a good manual rack is welcome. Weight-savings and added space to boot...

A donor is in the works, but not yet secured?

 

My mini was produced after February of 2005 and is not covered... HOW DOES THAT MAKE ANY SENSE? It's still an 05 with the same issue as all the other 05's... Sometimes I really hate the way mini operates. To me, if it keeps failing every 20k miles, it's a factory defect and should be covered regardless. END OF RANT

I just got off the phone with MINI USA and that's what they told me.

 

The extended warranty only covers up to February 2005 production. He might have a newer 2005. It failed last year on my 2006 (not covered). It's a safety issue that MINI needs to own up to.

You can file a complaint online at safercar.gov (direct link). Please do it if you have experienced an issue.

 

I went ahead and filed a complaint. Out of the 300 or so complaints with the same make and model of my car, 175ish of those were about the Power Steering Pump. LOL MINI really needs to own up to this.

 

I'm glad you posted that video. My 2006 R53 sounds EXACTLY the same. It started at about 105,000 and has sounded the same for the past 15,000 miles. It's on my list to fix.

I sure wish Mini would include the 2006 model in the recall but I'm guessing that won't happen.

 

Someone on the FB MINI group that I'm a part of says he thinks he heard rumors of them extending it to the 06 mini's as well. I'm glad I now know someone who's PSP sounds the same

 

I hope that will happen, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Kindof excited to convert to manual. I doubt they'll extend the warranty to our models.

 

I've been in touch w/ 'silence' of Condor Speed Shop & have gotten positive response. I've also done so w/ a potential donor who has yet to find time to remove his rack. He's on here. Haven't gotten updates from him since. Hope this experiment happens. It doesn't cost much & above all, it's an easy reversible mod.

 

I ordered two banjo fittings (14 and 16mm) with AN fittings, as well as a pre-made AN stainless steel hose from Summit Racing. I decided to give it a go and see how it feels as my rack needs to be replaced anyway. Worst case scenario, I don't like it, I tear it all out and throw the new rack in and call it a day. If I do like it, I'll install the fittings on the new rack and get rid of the pump and reservoir. I'll probably get my stuff next week so I'll be able to tell you if it's a good idea or not.

 

We shall await your reviews, Ghost. Hope you can post pics & detail parts list. Thanks!!!!

 

Hard to disagree with that logical approach. We appreciate the experimentation and sharing...

 

I got my stuff today (fittings as well as an exhaust tip to get my exhaust finally done). I decided to give it a go.

http://imgur.com/a/BOLki

First impression: Where the hell is my turning radius????? Getting out of the parking was more of a challenge as my turning radius increased, a lot. My test drive wasn't really conclusive, something is definitely odd. As expected, it's a lot stiffer, but not as much as driving with a dead pump since you don't have to move all the fluid around. When my pump was acting up and not working, it was awful to steer in a parking.

I'm not sure if I simply don't have enough fluid left in the rack, but the lock-to-lock ratio is really out of wack. When driving it on the road it was fine, but when I came back home, I couldn't make it in the u-shaped parking, I had to reverse and readjust. I tried it again while parked not even an hour ago and with the steering fully turned on either sides, the wheels are maybe halfway where they should be.

What I can tell tho is that having a custom manual rack would most likely be the way to go. The ratios would better and no weird issues. Anyway, if I can't find out what's wrong, I'll just swap the new rack in after work and plug it all back factory and see if someone has a better solution.

 

Damn, not quite the feedback we were hoping for. I recall in the other thread they have minimal fluid present. I think just 4 ounces was recommended, in their racks... Given what you describe, I somehow doubt that's the issue here though.

Da_Ghost, thanks for reporting back...

 

Input #2:

I didn't found what was the issue, but I suspect that some crap got into the rack since nothing was contacting the steering joint. When I got into the car this morning, I forced the steering a bit and it went over whatever was blocking. So the lock-to-lock thingy was just a weird result from the bypass.

As for the steering in general driving, I couldn't get used to how stiff it was. Someone that like it could probably live with it. After driving it some more, I thought that there was no way I'd drive the car on the track like this (I usually go to the local track at least once a month during the season). So all in all, it wasn't my cup of tea I stayed after work and replaced the leaking rack with the reman one. Almost 5 hours later (the bolts that hold the rack were all seized and one broke), I'm back with the good ol' power steering!