So, my 2003 R53 is in that phase of its life (109k mi) where all the 100,000-mile things are starting to happen. The power steering pump is one of them, and given that the warranty/recall repair period is 13 years, the local dealer said no joy. The pump fan still turns, but every now and then, with growing frequency, the pump cuts out, and doesn't come back until the car has been turned off and on. Given that the wheel is very hard to muscle around without the pump, and that even remanufactured pumps are pretty pricey, I was thinking about doing the power steering delete. Does anyone have experience with that in daily driving? Is it the sort of thing my wife could drive? Or should I just go ahead and do the power steering pump?

 

I personally have no experience with manual steering on the MINI, and anyone's opinion on the subject will be subjective anyway. The Condor power-steering delete loop is only $50.00, you could always try it out before buying a new pump to see for yourself.

https://www.condorspeedshop.com/prod...teering-delete

 

Pump $200
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...rting-out.html

 

Steering will be hard when parking, not so much at speed.
The delete might put strain on the U-joint in the steering
column, a part that has been hard to obtain the past couple years.
Keep this in mind.

 

To add to Cristo's comments...

I drove mine for months after the pump started to fail intermittently. Once I replaced the pump I noticed a little slop in my steering that wasn't there before. Turns out the stress of muscling the steering when the pump cut out while driving actually cracked the lower U-joint on the column.

 

I've had people do it and if you want to look like Popeye do it. If not don't as it is a pain to drive and worse to park. I have a car at the shop right now the guy removed it and it's totally not worth doing IMO.

 

I would just get one from junkyard or a craigslist partout ad.
Will highly suggest you not to drive without pump as you can damage your front suspension parts.