1st Gen R53 Cooper S Mini Cooper S (R53): Power Steering Pump/Fan/Duct Installation

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by wrh3, Jun 15, 2010.

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  1. wrh3

    wrh3 New Member

    May 18, 2010
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    #1 wrh3, Jun 15, 2010
    I purchased a pre-owned Mini Cooper S a few months ago, at that time it had 109k miles. I knew going in that the upper engine mount had failed and that the supercharger and power steering pump might have a limited life span......but cosmetically the car was in great shape.

    At 113k miles one month later. the power steering became intermittent and I knew I was going to be replacing the pump. So I bought the pump, the fan, and the OE fan duct to install. The power steering became less and the manual steering became more, so this past weekend I had an opportunity to replace it. I took some pics and assembled a DIY guide here:

    Mini Cooper S (R53): Power Steering Pump/Fan/Duct Installation

    Hopefully this can be of some use to you guys who enjoy working on your own cars and decide to replace your own power steering pump.
     
  2. Dr Obnxs

    Dr Obnxs New Member

    Jun 11, 2009
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    #2 Dr Obnxs, Jun 16, 2010
    Last edited: Jun 16, 2010
    Perfect timing!

    my PS pump assy died two days ago!

    Matt

    ps. Just read over your site, nice work for sure! Good with the details and the references for others to follow in your footsteps. But I noticed.... No Ian Cull Auto-Up circuit? That's just sad.... ;)
     
  3. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #3 BThayer23, Jun 16, 2010
    What's up with the duct you installed? Do you have a source or part number? Pics of it installed?

    Good write up. The pictures and circles are particularly helpful.
     
  4. wrh3

    wrh3 New Member

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    #4 wrh3, Jun 16, 2010
    No Ian Cull auto up circuit for now, maybe ;)

    Mini decided at some point later in the R50-R53 life cycle to add this OE duct to the fan and my '05 did not have it. I bought it from Moss Mini but the part numbers are pictured with each piece at the top of the write-up, probably cheaper through Jason at Classic. Pics installed towards the bottom of the write-up. The duct allows the fan to get air but offers some protection from foreign objects that might get sucked in causing it to jam like the occasional plastic bag, etc.
     
  5. bee1000

    bee1000 New Member

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    #5 bee1000, Jun 16, 2010
    I think it's awesome that you took so much time to create that how-to web page. Great work!
     
  6. CarlB

    CarlB Active Member

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    #6 CarlB, Jun 16, 2010
    Thanks for the write up. My 05 R-53 had a pump failure and MINI replaced it and added the duct. My 06 August build date R-53 does not have the duct.
     
  7. wrh3

    wrh3 New Member

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    #7 wrh3, Jun 16, 2010
    I think I remember reading that only the later year convertibles got the duct from the factory, maybe the years they still had the Gen 1 convertible but at the same time the Gen 2 hardtops?
     
  8. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #8 BThayer23, Jun 16, 2010
    Hmm, maybe I oughta pick one up. That duct would certainly solve the issue of getting junk in the fan. Thanks for pointing out the part numbers, tough to see from an iphone.
     
  9. wrh3

    wrh3 New Member

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    #9 wrh3, Jun 16, 2010
    Here is a link to the RealOEM parts breakdown. If you order these duct pieces you will also need the clips that work with the screw retainers (#8 in the diagram, these are the pieces I did not have but may order):

    RealOEM.com BMW R52 Cooper S Underbody paneling, front
     
  10. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    #10 ScottinBend, Jun 16, 2010
    The duct was put on the gen 1 'verts.

    Only bad part about the duct is that it has to be removed for oil changes and it doesn't work so good when the car is stopped.
     
  11. Dr Obnxs

    Dr Obnxs New Member

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    #11 Dr Obnxs, Jun 16, 2010
    This is far from statistically significant

    so take it for the single datum it represents. 02 S, driven hard, no fan failure, but the PS pump unit just went south with almost 120k miles on the car.... No fancy ducting.

    Matt
     
  12. Ofioliti

    Ofioliti New Member

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    #12 Ofioliti, Jun 17, 2010
    Super how-to! Thanks for taking the time to put it together. :Thumbsup:

    (By the way, my sister's '06 MCS hard top has the fan duct, so it is not just on the convertibles.)
     
  13. Gil-galad

    Gil-galad Club Coordinator

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    #13 Gil-galad, Jun 17, 2010
  14. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #14 BThayer23, Jun 17, 2010
  15. Dr Obnxs

    Dr Obnxs New Member

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    #15 Dr Obnxs, Jun 23, 2010
    I'm taking mine out now...

    I'm gonna try to clean the motor up and replace the brushes. We'll see if that fixes it...

    Matt
     
  16. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #16 BThayer23, Jun 24, 2010
    I'm curious what the inside of the motor looks like, before and after. I'm interested to see if you'd recommend a cleaning every 50k or just a complete overhaul when necessary.
     
  17. Dr Obnxs

    Dr Obnxs New Member

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    #17 Dr Obnxs, Jun 24, 2010
    My guess

    is that a periodic cleaning is better than waiting for a failure. When it fails, there is the possibility for more damage....

    There were some photos of the guts on the MINI2 thread. MiniManiaUK took it all apart and posted some shots.... I'll take some when I have it apart as well.

    Matt
     
  18. BThayer23

    BThayer23 Well-Known Member

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    #18 BThayer23, Jun 24, 2010
    Cool. I saw the pictures over there. As the saying goes, a picture's worth a thousand words, but if you don't know what the heck you're looking at, it's worthless. A few words from a trained eye are more valuable than any picture.
     
  19. Dr Obnxs

    Dr Obnxs New Member

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    #19 Dr Obnxs, Jun 24, 2010
    It's out of the car...

    and if I ever do this again, I'll just drop the sub frame. No, you don't have to, but everything is really exposed when you do.

    Also, if your car has 112k miles on it, everything is much, much dirtier!

    Matt
     
  20. Dr Obnxs

    Dr Obnxs New Member

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    #20 Dr Obnxs, Jun 24, 2010
    So I'm tearing it apart...

    and it's pretty easy to take the motor cover off to get all the dust out....

    there are two sealed bearings that could be swapped out, but even on my high mileage car, they feel pretty good. The brushes are close to shot, but changing them will take patience....

    I'm going to tear into that now....

    I haven't taken photos yet because it's a total mess...

    I'll keep letting people know what I find....

    So far, no special tools but snap ring pliers needed.

    Matt
     
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