Hi All,

doing fluid checks power steering level is low. Think I have a very slow leak in one of the hydraulic down tubes from the reservoir. Will mend later but in the meantime I need to top it up.

Mini dealer closed at the weekend and amazon is charging $$$ for the pentosin brand.

Canadian tire sell this stuff:
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/o...-0380657p.html

comments suggest it’s the same stuff. Ignore star rating someone gave 2 stars but said it was awesome fluid!

Says mini right on the box, has anyone used it with success?

 

Good question, not sure how many folks are up here in Canada. I tried googling to see if I could discover who actually supplies CT with the fluid. I suspect a major brand that is just rebottled as their house brand. I also suspect they use their own brand in their shops so I would guess it isn't completely bad but can't see anywhere that says it's warranty approved. In a pinch probably fine and if you have a leak then you are likely going to have to drain the system anyway and replace the fluid.

 

Hi Nightshooter,

figure theres a few canucks on here. I looked at some of the Q&As for the product. Pretty good replies. I like the merc owner; too old to be using something expensive pics below. I’ll probably pop in today and take a look see what the back of the bottle says and post a pic here for reference.

I hear what your saying re topup/flush. But family family life gets in the way of my car time. Good intentions may be replaced by ignorance and wherever I put in there has to be done with the assumption it’s in there long term. If I solve the leak with a new hose clamp I probably won’t flush the system. Fluid appears to be of good colour in the reservoir currently, looks new.

 

Says chf 11s on the bottle. The cap on the mini doesn’t say has to be pentosin brand specifically either. So I’ve topped up with it. $27/litre vs $40/litre CAD for pentosin on amazon.

Looks like its it’s made by a company in Montreal: Recochem. I googled them prior to purchase, for what it’s worth I couldn’t get anything with chf 11s specifically related or pentosin affiliation.

 

I put the Crappy Tire stuff in my R52 a month ago when I changed out the two PS hoses. So far so good. The Pentosin is supposed to offer very good cold weather performance so we may not see any issues until January. My MINI is not used in the winter so I think I will be OK.

 

My mini is a year round car, but the temp range stated is the exact same as pentosin: -40C to 130C.

How big big a job was the ps hose change? Assuming your talking about the 2 hoses that go from reservoir to main lines but not all the ps lines?

Cheers.

 

Yes the two hoses from the reservoir to the pump and rack. There is a very good how to on this site with pictures and instructions. The job took me a while because I didn't have the right worm clamps before i started and I struggled with the stock hose clamp removal. Tip take a dremel to the top hose clamps and cut them off. I used a hack saw blade to cut off the bottom clamp on the pump end. It is really tight in there and difficult to get tools to remove the hose. An assistant will be helpful to pull on the hose will you are under the car pushing at the hose with pliers, after you have cut off the hose clamp. You will get fluid all over the place so have lots of rags/towels on hand.

One more tip, it is still a pain to get the hoses off the reservoir even with the clamps off because the hoses are old and stiff. I used a heat gun to soften them up.

 

Cheers, nice tips.