Steering Issues on 2001 Cooper

[hendy]

My other half has recently been complaining of “steering issues” with her Mini and I assumed that it was due to the usual tyre pressures etc. However, having checked them all this weekend, I found that all 4 were spot on.

I took the car for a spin and found that there was serious judder under hard braking, a louder than normal squeal when manoeuvring slowly and slightly heavier that I would expect steering when parking etc.

Has anyone else here experienced similar issues? If so, what was the resolution and was is an expensive repair?

Thank you for any help you can offer.

[mike9009]

Hi

Dont want to alarm you but the power steering pumps can often fail on early minis. When ours failed (2004 mcs) it was covered under warranty - if you have fbmwsh might be worth asking bmw if they will cover as this is a known fault.

Our Mcs had 17" wheels and became almost impossible to steer at parking speeds - so might not be that?

Mike

[hendy]

mike9009 said:

Hi

Dont want to alarm you but the power steering pumps can often fail on early minis. When ours failed (2004 mcs) it was covered under warranty - if you have fbmwsh might be worth asking bmw if they will cover as this is a known fault.

Our Mcs had 17" wheels and became almost impossible to steer at parking speeds - so might not be that?

Mike

Hi Mike,

Thanks for your reply. I was half expecting that, but hoping it was somthing less.

We don't have BMWSH, so it will be going to an indy. This MC is on 17" wheels too, I wondered if they have contributed to the problem?

[DanGT]

The pumps do go a lot. I do wonder how many had the 17" wheels?

[bazking69]

PAS pumps are a commonish issue, but not exactly the end of the world.
Bigger wheels may well be a contributing factor, but it will only be nominal anyway over smaller wheels.

[RikGT4]

You might also want to look into the front Wishbone bushes - check out the forum on Mini2.com, its a very common problem. I had it with mine in that the steering felt like it had flat tyres, didn't feel as sharp as it should. After looking on the forum i had the bushes replaced with Superflex ones and the car now drives as it should. Worth a look.

Rik

[hendy]

Thanks, I'll check that out.

[< FORZA WEST]

Another one to check that is becoming more and more common is the steering rack...Check to see if the gaiters are bloated and full of oil-the end seals burst in the rack and allow the PAS fluid to bypass into the gaiters

[911hillclimber]

My money is on the electric pump, but the other suggestions are interesting.
I did the pump on our Mini One (2002) myself.
Steers great now.
When they fail they kill the power steering assistance with very nasty implications. Fix it soon!

Awkward and a bit tricky in places but expensive even DIY (£350 ish)