I have an R50 with 135K km and P/S is slowly failing. I checked the P/S fan by running the car with the A/C on, but it does not move. I drove around the block, steering a bit heavy than normal, with A/C on, got back to the garage and checked fan again, but still it does not work.

As for the feel of the steering, as I rotate the wheel it varies from normal to heavy. I power cycle the car and still it has the same steering characteristic.

Seeing that the fan doesn't move even with A/C on means it is busted, but how about the pump? Is the pump acting up becuase of the fan not working or is it screwed as well?

I appreciate any info that would shed light to this.

 

Firstly, check your power steering hydraulic fluid level and make sure that is ok. If it is low, there is a possibility of a leak, which would necessitate getting the pump replaced and/or rack if it has leaked into the bushings in the steering rack. The steering pump isn't hard to replace, but the steering rack is difficult as the front sub-assembly has to be dropped.

When you are steering, does the power steering pump still whine, does it whine more or less? Does it whine even when you turn the car off? If the whine has changed, it is more likely the pump has failed.

The reason I jumped right to the steering column is that the lower-universal joint can rust and start to bind, especially on higher mileage cars in New England. With the notichiness that you described does it always occur in the same ratio (e.g. 1/16th of a turn or 1/32th of a turn of the wheel)? If it is fairly constant I have a feeling it is the steering column joint. If it is inconsistent it is more likely the pump. The only other thing it could possibly be is if the steering fan seized (also very common) the steering pump could overheat and this would manifest as the steering being perfectly fine when you turn on the car but after a bit of driving having it fail.

I'd come by and visit, but I'm in North Carolina til Wednesday!

 

Pumps are prone to failure from overheating,BBA-Reman.com for the pump and get a new fan.

 

I just has BBA do my pump. Had it turned around in 3 days. No problem so far and comes with lifetime warranty to original owner. $220 including shipment. Man is that pump a tight fit in there.

 

http://www.autohausaz.com/search/pro...teering%20Pump

 

I think BBA makes a lot of sense if you don't mind taking your car out of service for a few days. In my case the pump still worked, albeit noisily, so going with GermanAutoParts saved me a lot of time.

 

What's BBA? Sounds like a good deal for $220 shipped w/ lifetime warranty.

You can do BBA and drive without power steering for a couple days. Shouldn't be a big deal.

 

BBA-REMAN.COM,i've had dealings with them and cant say enough,but you have to send the pump.

 

you should hear the pump whine when your sitting and turning the wheel. check your fluid as well but mostly the pump failed if the fan stopped cooling it. the ctrl module is prone to fail which is attached to the pump.


no need to waste 150 on a fan. just change the bearing which seizes for under $10. you'll know its seized it you cant spin it by hand.
https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...wn-ps-fan.html

 

Thank you 1FSTMINI. I can hear the pump whine whenever I turn the wheel. Audible yet subtle. The fluid level is at max so I suspect that there is no leak on the pump or rack. It has been below freezing temperature here since December so cooling the pump is still somewhat ok, but not as good with the fan working.

I will look at the fan and see if it seized to rotate. Hopefully that solves everything.

 

Lucky it's winter,remember the fluid is Pentoshin from the dealer not any old steering fluid.

 

whovous,

my mini's (MCS '04, 83K) having some serious noise with the PS also and i think i'm going down the same route as you. just out of curiosity, how much did you pay for the replacement of the PS (total labor/parts costs)? and do you notice a reduction in noise from your new PS?

thanks.

 

When you guys say serious noise...what do you guys mean? As far as I'm concerned there was a pamphlet from MINIUSA posted on NAM before that said, if your sitting in your MINI and your at a stop, turning your steering wheel and hearing a noise is normal....

 

odd, i posted a reply but its not here...anyway

the p/s pump is roughly $400 ish and under 2hrs r/r. i think whovous changed it himself.

 

Turning the A/C on is not a conclusive test for the PS fan!.

The PS fan will only run when the radiator fan runs on high speed!

There are two conditions where this will happen; the ECT reaches 112 degrees C (which is not likely if the low speed on the radiator fan is working)
or the pressure of the freon goes high because the A/C is on.

The A/C compressor will not engage if the ambient temperature is too low; this would destroy the compressor in short order.

Check the 5 amp fuse in the fuse compartment on the side of the dash, if its good and the PS fan is not frozen (turns freely by hand) my bet is the fan is good; make sure the tires are not under inflated. Good luck!

 

Ok i have done a little searching without a clear answer.
anyways i have an 03 MCS and whats happening is when i first start my car i'll have power steering for about the first 5 minutes then it stops.

is it possible its just the fan? or do you think my pump is going.

p.s. the car does have 97k

 

reach under the car and see if the fan spins by hand. if it does check the 20 amp fuze next to the ECU. If both of these check out ok, it may be the power steering pump. they are pretty common

 

It sounds like your fluid level is real low. Just enough fluid to work for awhile, but not enough to fill the entire system. If fluid level is low, look for the leak. If not low, then it may be the fan issue mentioned above.

 

The fan on the Power Steering Pump will not run untill the engine temp reaches 112 degrees C!


Normally this temperature will not be reached since the fan will run in low speed and cool the radiator before this temp is reached!

Long story short, the fan has nothing to do with the PS failure! I would check the PS fluid level to start.

 

You may want to check the fluid. MINI specifies Pentosin CHF11S steering fluid. I recently ran into a problem with intermittent power steering. Turns out my fluid was low due to a small leak at the reservoir. The leak was trace to the hose attached to the reservoir and was resolved by removing the crimp-type clamp and replacing it with a band type clamp. Fluid topped up. Problem solved. Hope this helps....

 

The Fan runs off a 5amp fuse on the side wall of your drivers footwell. To test the PS Fan turn on your AC to full and wait for the Radiator Fans to start, if they do the PS fan should run, as they are set to turn on at the same time. You can view the PS fan from under the front of the car without a jack. If its not the fuse, and you are not leaking PS fluid, then you are probably going to be paying thru the nose to fix the issue. If the fuse blew its probably because something got thrown up into the fan which in turn popped the fuse. You can install a shield from one the vendors or right from MINI if you keep having issues. Good luck...

 

won't bork the power steering until things really heat up. Failure of the power steering can have lots of causes... But before you start thinking you're really hosed, make sure that the fluid is full....

If it's not, top it up and see if it's working better. Look for leaks and if you find any, repair as needed. FWIW, one guy I know was quoted over a grand for a leaking rack replacement, and he fixed it with one of those snake-oil seal restorer additives. I guess he figured that $7 with what he viewed as little chance of success was better than just shelling out all the money to replace a rack that worked but leaked, and he got lucky.

By far, the largest number of power steering failures I've come across have been the pump/motor assemby. FWIW, these are available as rebuilds for much less than new parts.

Matt

 

The 5 amp fuse is used to run the PS fan and high speed for the radiator.

 

BBA Reman sells the PS pump for about $200 with a lifetime
[FONT=Times New Roman][SIZE=3]warrantee it fairly easy to replace. [/SIZE][/FONT]

 

alright, i tried flushing the PS fluid first. noise is about the same and yes, i think it's that "normal" noise i would guess. the biggest change i've seem is how much easier it is to actually steer the wheels.

so PS flush equals no noise reduction in PS but easier to steer. so i guess all's good for now. no leaks in the PS system was noticed.