Power steering totally cut out

[meenieme]

im a noob myself ..... and coming from a japanese car there steering is really light and compared to european cars the steering is heavy. from reading the above post, is it if you still hear the steerings' whine so its still good right ? Reason i am asking is that i find the steering to be heavy and i have checked the power steering fluid and its good.

[burns863]

Quote: Originally Posted by meenieme (original)

im a noob myself ..... and coming from a japanese car there steering is really light and compared to european cars the steering is heavy. from reading the above post, is it if you still hear the steerings' whine so its still good right ? Reason i am asking is that i find the steering to be heavy and i have checked the power steering fluid and its good.

I too find the PAS heavy compared to other cars... but i still like it hehe.

As to the whine... when my steering cuts out you no longer hear the whine. So i am guessing this means the pump has completely stopped?

[Root Ginger]

Quote: Originally Posted by Humourl3ss (original)

Truth be told the only car I ever had to drive without power steering was an old Datsun that weighed under 2,000 lbs. Having said that, effort always gets lighter with speed and low-speed parking is an opportunity for building up my forearms.

Seriously, though.... once you're under way is it really that bad? If anything shouldn't it improve steering feel?

No because you've still got to pump the fluid, except now it is purely down to how hard you can turn the wheel. With a non power assisted car you're just turning the wheels with a direct mechanical connection.

Basically it makes the steering about 100 times harder than a non power steering car. When stationary it's pretty much impossible to turn the wheel. When at speed it takes a fair bit of effort.

It is noticably hard at motorway speeds.

[katie.wynd]

Anyone help me locate the power steering level on a mini one 03 reg? Used my car all day with no complaints then got in it tonight to find the power steering was locked? iv read some answers that it could be the pump but was just wanting to check the fluid first.
Thanx!!

[burns863]

if you do a bit of searching here on Mini2 there is a thread with some images on showing the power-steering fluid reservoir. If you cant find them, its the black non-transparent 'bottle' with a black screw top. Use the lid as a dip stick, it has markers on it

Hope this helps!