Just poking around the engine bay checking for corrosion on #3 terminal.

I noticed some nasty sludge build up on the tank for the power steering fluid. Before i messed with it, I turned the car on, looked/listened for leaks.

sure enough could hear an air escape sound from the area. Turned car off cleaned it up real well, popped the lid and see the tank to be about half full. I plan on getting more fluid tomorrow for top off, and after making sure the cap was tight I turned car back on. Just a faint sound of air coming from area. let it run for about 5 mins with no leaks.

Did some searching into Ps pumps and failure and could not find any info in regards to this. Just hit 29,500k on my '03. Any help is appreciated

 

That's normal. There is a vent in the cap for the P/S tank, so vapor tends to collect on the top. Also the fluid level is normal to be about 1/2 full.

 

It is NOT normal... not if you compare it to other vehicles of same vintage. My wife and I are going to buy an 08 Convertible... and the P/S tank and the "sludge" buildup around it made me wonder what the heck is going on. Well, after reading of all the P/S failures of this vintage car I've come to 2 possible conclusions - 1) The P/S tank is a POS... including its lid seal. 2) The power steering fluid gets hot and its vapors are pushing out of the POS lid seal creating the dirt/sludge build up. Makes you wonder doesn't it? I plan on putting temp dots on the tank to see if my argument has merit. I will post results.

This crap of "Normal" in this Mini community I am starting to realize is a cop out for multiple and chronic issues with these cars. The fact that a Vendor pushes this disturbs me. Never the less the wife wants one... so here WE go. We pick up our 08 Vert this weekend.

 

I have an '04 R53, 159,000 miles. I haven't ever had a sludge or fluid build up on top of the tank. I did last week replace the supply hoses as they were leaking some. Replaced the tank also since I had to remove it anyway to get to the hoses, and it wasn't an expensive part. But didn't really need to after I examined the old one.
Please make sure your using the correct fluid when you refill.
Matt

 

My issue was it looked as if the lid was not tight (although I could not tighten it any more) and spewed the fluid all around the tank.
My fluid level is low per the dip stick attached to the lid. Should I just fill up or drain and use brand new fluid?

 

You should buy a honda and not be so angry. Since no one here engineered the car, there really isn't any blame that can be pointed to someone who is just mentioning a symptom common to the car. What is normal, isn't always right, nor ideal, but still it gets to be normal by occurring often enough. It seems to really bother you, and here I am with two minis and gooey PS tanks, and I couldn't care less.
Sounds like you should really buy something that doesn't make you so mad, even though you don't own one.

 

You have GOT to be a liberal. Good for you and your gooey tanks

 

WOW Your angry at me for saying it's normal?

I work on 4-6 MINIs a day and see it on 90% of them, that's why I say it's normal. There is a hole in the car so unless you plug it vapor is going to come out of it. No cop out here, just facts.

 

You take it out of context. You state a fact that it is "normal"... not your fault or any other owner of this vehicle. What strikes me as odd (towards Mini - not you) is that a Vendor would state that something wrong is "normal". It speaks volumes to the engineering of this car... not the wrench who works on it. Take the 07 up turbo... auxillary H20 pump, chain tensioner (and chain or other severe damage, bent valves damaged pistons, etc, if you don't catch it in time, intake valve carbonization due to direct injection, droopy hood scoop from an underengineered turbo insulation/protection .... to name a few. Seems to me the 2nd Gen folks have it worse than the 1st Gen. Still the P/S pump is critical to control of the car... yet it is "normal" to see sludge in and/or around the lid? No explanation from a Vendor who admittanly wrenches on 4-6 Mini's a day? All you got is it is "normal"? Anything else? Aftermarket solution maybe? Sure, it needs to vent... so does the P/S pump on every single other car that has power steering. The other 3 cars in my driveway do not have this problem... get it?
I see alot of acceptance (political for cop out) of "normal" of Mini problems the more I read on this forum... you seemed kind of flippant about it in your initial response. "Cop Out" is not meant for you persay... it is a generalization (you don't have to like it) from, vendors, owners, and this forum as a collective that the message is of acceptance... accept the problem and live with it... and gripe that Mini won't fix it. I don't see an attempt to explain the problem for owners to understand it. Bottom line is Power Steering fluid is being pushed into a state of atomization. Why? Heat? Cavitation? Both? Why? I said I would temp dot the tank to see if that is the problem. Have you done that yet? Am I wasting my time? Personally I am trying to understand the problem and mitigate it... not kick this can down the road labling it as "normal".

 

Flippant? I didn't recognize anyone being flippant.

Why would there be cavitation? Heat. It is absolutely normal, meaning the result of its engineering.

Greg

Greg

 

I have had the same can of CHF11S in my car for a couple years now, not a big expense.

Kicking the can and having a blast doing it since 2009.