Apologies in advance for raising a matter that has been dealt with at length over the years. However, I was wondering if anyone has tried rebuilding the electric motor (not the pump) on the PS assembly. I didn't find anything through the search function so I'm asking. My car is a 2006 R52 with 70,000 miles on the clock. I just completed an oil change and noticed that the PS cooling fan was stuck. Freed it up but will keep an eye on it routinely now. I also started looking around for replacement pump assemblies since the mileage on my car suggests I may need to replace the PS pump assembly soon, and noticed that a source in Holland sells the motor only for about 300 Euro. Too much money considering the exchange rate but it started me thinking about rebuilding the motor myself.

Based on everything I've read, the motor is the most common failure item in the PS circuit rather than the pump which is mated to it.

Has anybody out there done this?

Thanks in advance.

Jon
2006 R52 MINI S

 

Both the power steering pump and fan will end up failing in the long run, not sure I'd replace it if it's still running fine, but that's just me. I'd stay away from rebuilt power steering pumps as they are known to break again. As for the fan, they are cheap enough to just replace it.

Fairly sure that only specialized shops are rebuilding them. I've never seen a thread about someone fixing the electric part of the pump themselves, but I could be wrong.

 

Folks have opened up the motors....
Cleaned out the carbon....sometimes put in new brushes....but they have rarely been worn to failure...the issue is usually wear...worn windings...due to excess heat or the controller that switches the pump from high to low failing....
Not sure what you would gain from changing the motor... Many are working fine when removed...they just don't turn off......I'd just change it all...be done with it.

 

Sorry, I wasn't clear. I understand that there are two vulnerable assemblies here; the cooling fan and the pump assembly. I'm mostly interested in the pump assembly which has a hydraulic pump side and a motor side. Interestingly, it's not the pump that fails but the electro motor that runs it. Failures seem to originate from the ball bearings, the brush assembly (easy), and the motor circuitry. It's rebuilding that $600 pump motor I'm interested in doing.

Jon

 

I cleaned mine out last weekend and it had A LOT of dust.

 

This might help: http://www.billswebspace.com/CleaningMiniPSP.htm