That little fan underneath. I assume that it's part of the fix for the power steering pump failures, but is it? How does it work? Mine was jammed, but I got it cleaned and it hand turns, but I don't know if it spins electrically. Does it come on at a certain temp? Or does it come on at shut-off to reduce underhood heat soak after shut down? How can I test it? Oh, and what is it called?

 

Power Steering Fan, aka PS Fan.
I think it comes on with the low speed fan. Check to see if it blew a fuse when it jammed.

 

The power steering fan is/always been standard.....
Get s new one...then check the fuse...then check at oil changes...
Fix to prevent the fan from getting wrecked is the PS duct kit...used on some cabrios...I retrofitted it o my car...Has kept the OK for 5 years+....

 

Zippy, did you add both the duct and revised splash pan?

 

Yup...
Got the kit from moss....
Assume you can still get it from mini or any junked cabrio (with the auto I think)...
Was $85 or so for the parts...I figured cheaper to do this once than the PS fan every winter...at $100+....
Only minior inconvenience is I must move the duct to do my oil changes...an extra 2 minutes...

 

Looked into it a while ago and promptly forgot. Out here we don't really have the 'winter' issue, but I like the idea of covering up that exposed fan. Given a once-a-year oil change, I can probably deal with the extra two minutes.