The seal on the steering rack of my wife's 05 Cabrio failed. Lost all the fluid and the pump started making noises. So I'll be installing a re-built rack and I'll change the pump because it's probably toast. Does anyone know how much CH11S fluid is needed to fill the system? The Bently Manual I have doesn't list a capacity.

 

A little less than one can was enough when replacing my pump, you might want to get two since you are replacing the rack. ~$20 a can at my local NAPA.

 

My local NAPA didn't have it. Is NAPA using a different number?

 

I have seen it at O'Reillys and some other McParts stores as well, same price.

 

Good info. Thanks!

 

I just picked up mine from the dealer.

 

Dealer is about 11/2 hours away. Found a local parts store, Autopart International. It's $22.95 a quart.

 

OK, after 4 hours of reading through the 25 pages of this thread, I can officialy say My problem is something different...

1st time my power steering died, it was due to loss of fluid (leaky hose clamps @ resivoir) Topped off fluid all was well.

About a month later, steering rack blew a seal and started spewing fluid out of the pass side boot. pulled 100a fuse#4 to save Pump and drove like that for a couple weeks until I could get rack replaced.

Once rack was replaced (rebuilt unit - $299.95 from Phoenix rack and axle) I replaced the fuse and primed the system. To be honest steering felt TOO easy, but then I had been getting used to driving without it.

The very next morning I went out to the car and no power steering. Fluid levels fine, Pump just not running.

I've been under the car several times since and everytime it would work for a while after I fiddle with it then die again...

I've got it narrowed down to this: If I unplug the P/S cooling fan and plug it back in that is enough to bring things back to life. once it's working it will continue to work until the car has been off for a long period (overnight)

It has never died while running, always a "It was working when shut it down, now there's nothing when I start it" situation.

Once it dies, it never just starts working again on it's own.

I have bench-tested the fan and it is fine. My fan has an aditional harness that looks like it was added as an afterthought with a diode in it. I have bypassed this aditional harness to see if it was causing the issue and no change.

It seems like there is some sort of protection circutry that's malfunctioning. I'm not spending the money on a new pump if that's not the real issue, so I'm hoping someone here might have an idea for me to check.

BTW, this is an '03 MCS that just turned 100,000mi

 

Has anyone posted a pictured step by step procedure on the replacement on the power steering pump? Thanks in advance, AL (IDOXLR8).

 

I don't remember seeing any pictures but I have done this three times now and can walk you through it.

 

Great, PM me a contact number a good time to reach you. I will be going to my MINI dealer for the parts this week, Thanks, AL (IDOXLR8).

 

I would go with BBA remanufacturing, I did. Lifetime warranty, I bought a rebuilt unit and sent them my old one as a core.


BTW, where do you live? If you are in the Washington, DC area I can help you in person.

 

In Hampstead MD and work near you live off of New Ridge rd. Off of Dorsey rd. AL.

 

Ok, I have some PS fluid we can use. You will need new clamps for the tubes, the OEM ones are a pain. I would go with the old fashion worm type clamps, if you look at the PS fluid res you will see the sizes you need...

We can find an evening or weekend (this one is not good) and we can swap out the pump in and hour or two in my garage.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by nitrogen76
What exactly is the "power steering pump soon-to-die noise"?

Mine buzzes lightly, and increases in pitch if I turn the wheel. I only notice it in the garage, or if I pull up to a wall with the windows open.

Cool. I have the exact situation as described by nitrogen76. I was thinking about replacing the pump on my 2002 MCS which has 62k miles, but I won't bother now. Just have to keep an eye on that pesky fan to make sure it odesn't seize up.

 

To see pics of the inside of a Steering pump w/ approximately 135k miles on it see this post

 

Lost power steering today, checked my fluid level and it looked low. So I went to napa and added some in. Started up my car, power steering worked great for about 2 min. Then back to strong arm'n it, drove home let it sit then started it again, power steering works! for about 2 min... So after I did some research in my Bentley manual and found out that the Electric power steering has an overload protection where if the pump gets too hot it will shut down. So I would assume that my power steering fan has pooped out on me. Or there is a worse issue because the power steering fan is controlled by the cooling fan circuit.
So tomorrow I will take off the skid plate and test the connections at the power steering fan plug..

 

Also Found out I put the wrong fluid in so i will be doing a power steering fluid flush...

 

Normal failure, sounds like you need a pump.

 

Checked all fuses on my car, none are bad.

Started my car in the garage, turned the wheel and power steering was working. Took the PS fan down and let it hang started the car waited for it to get up to temperature (1/2 on the gauge), then waited for the engine cooling fan to kick in but never did even ran the car at 3k RPMs for about 2 min. The engine fan never kicked in but the temperature never went over half on the gauge. Took the PS fan off tested it with a 12v power supply, the PS fan worked. Put it back on the car and let it hang started the car again and waited for it to get up to temperature. Engine fan never kicked on, but power steering worked...
So I'm wondering why my Engine cooling fan never kicked on. Swapped a few relays under the bonnet then let the car get up to temp but still no Engine cooling fan...

From my understanding the PS fan kicks on with the Engine cooling fan.
So could it be a bad relay somewhere, i did see there were a few relays to do with the Engine cooling fan, and even a relay for the Pump...

So from my conclusion I would like to assume that the pump is getting hot and shutting it self off to prevent damage, because the fan is never kicking on.

 

I performed the exact same 'TESTING' procedure and found the same results.

Apparently the PS Fan only kicks in when the low speed engine coolant fan (same circuit) kicks in (at about 105 C or so), if your's did not work then you have a faulty engine coolant low speed fan.

There's no precise way of knowing your engine temps by using the temp gauge on the cluster, you have to use either the built in diagnostic mode on the onboard computer, or an OBD2 scan tool.

But I assure you that your low speed fan mode has gone belly up like mine.

Cheers!
RayanMX

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.com...-solution.html

There is a solution and I think it should be a sticky.
The low speed fan resistor is the direct cause of the power steering pump failing. When your low speed fan resistor goes out your PS fan does not come on unless your high fan comes on, too much heat for that electric motor... replacing the resistor is the only sure way this wont happen again. As mini has not addressed the problem with the engine cooling fan resistor.

The pump does have thermal protection and will shut it self off if it gets too hot. But without the fan blowing on it, it is subjected to high heat. Not hot enough to shut the pump down via thermal protection but hot enough to cause a lot a wear and eventually burn up. This is why so many people have burn up and replaced there pumps. Sure it may last for a 100k miles maybe but it shouldn't need to be replaced.

Thanks,
Austen

 

SLOWLY but surely this thread has no doubt been making a difference. Reports today are that this is investigation is being "upgraded" by the NHTSA.
If you've had the issue but haven't reported it, I highly suggest doing so! If you've had the issue and paid to have it fixed I suggest keeping up with those receipts as well...
Here is the most recent article from The Detroit News.

 

This is AWESOME! There obviously is a design flaw and I can't believe it's taking MINI and BMW this long to acknowledge that.

 

I've been hearing what I thought was a fan in my 2002 MCS running. I bet this is the steering pump. I woke up Sunday morning and found my battery dead. I have no idea what caused it. It doesn't run all the time though. Is there any way to tell for sure? Hopefully if there's a recall they recall the 2002's as well! sounds like all the first generations have the same problem.