I have searched for answers but hopefully someone can help...

I upgraded my 51 One to a 53 Cooper around 8 months ago; it has been fine up and till the recent cold weather.

Suddenly, it has become extremely loud when driving - the whine from the power steering pump is now noticable even when driving - with the radio on!

It is a constant noise; when pressure is held on the wheel (when stationary) it increases in volume but remains loud even when not turning. :aargh:

Does this mean a new pump?

Obviously, there is a whine that comes from the pump - the problem is it has suddenly become extremely loud. It seems to still function correctly but I am worried about driving it.

Hope someone can shine some light :-)

Thanks :D

Just what you don`t need just before Xmas. It points to, as you say , the pump but first do check that the steering fluid is at the correct level.
jc

Some pumps are a lot louder than others, so does not always indicate it is failing. However if you prefer not to wait for it to go suddenly, maybe budget for early replacement soon if it has done over 50k miles. The MCS also has an extra aux. electric cooling fan situated under the pump which should be occasionally checked for correct function (it only comes on with the main rad cooling fan speed 2) as they can fail allowing the pump to overheat under some conditions.
I have posted some other useful info here:
Power Steering Pump replacement - Forums (http://forum.minicooper.org/showthread.php?t=9626)

i just had my pump changed because it got very loud. All sorted now, it can fail and makes the car very difficult to steer. I bought a recon pump from ebay on an exchange basis (i had to send them my old one back as well) and got it fitted by Tony at Mini Motorsport in brighton, much cheaper than going to Mini/BMW.