Talk Morgan Forums Morgan Sports Cars Maintenance & Servicing Aero 8 Steering Pump Failure - Assitance Please

Quite agree - the mechanical pump on my S1 failed at 35k - the electric replacement was very satis and according to Keith @ BHM is reliable.

Don't suppose you have some photo's of the failure you could post up.

Hi,Just had the car serviced at the factory, ready for a trip to Spain in June.The car has done 24000 miles and still has the original pump,should I consider replacing it before the trip.Is the car drivable if the pump fails.

The steering pump used by Morgan is a low quality punp from Mini. I've seen mechanical high pressure hydraulic pumps last for hundreds of thousands of miles on cheap Citroens, so you might be better off and safer with a different brand of steering pump.

That being said, you might want to follow the general rule of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

To make the pump last longer, avoid steering at standstill. Standstill steering puts a lot of strain on the pump.

Harald

From my experience it depends on the mode of failure. If the coupling shears then you can steer ok albeit very heavy at low speeds. If the pump disintegrates the it is europ-assistance home.
If your local dealer can't help, have a chat with Keith at BHM.

THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CONFUSION ABOUT AERO S1 STEERING PUMPS... THE S1 AERO WAS ORIGINALLY FITTED WITH A MECHANICALLY DRIVEN HYDAULIC PUMP. THE PUMP WAS DRIVEN BY A DOG TYPE COUPLING WITH A MINUTE KEYWAY WHICH WAS TOTALLY UNSUITABLE FOR THE FORCES APPLIED VIA THE BOTTOM CRANK PULLEY. AEROS'S WERE THEN MANUFACTURED WITH AN ELECTRO HYDRAULIC PUMP FROM THE NEW MINI WHICH SOLVED THE PROBLEM OF COUNTLESS EARLY AERO S1 POWER STEERING FAILURES....I KNOW BECAUSE I'VE JUST FITTED ONE ON MY 8000 MILE AERO....IF YOUR MECHANICAL PUMP FAILS ..YES YOU CAN STILL DRIVE IT AND WOULD BE OK AT HIGHER SPEEDS ,BUT NOT VERY EASY TO STEER AT LOW SPEEDS..IT MAY ALSO MAKE A GRINDING NOISE AS THE SHAFT TURNS IN THE BROKEN COUPLING WHICH IN TURN RUINS THE PUMP SHAFT .MY ADVISE WOULD BE TO CHANGE IT FOR THE ELECTRO HYDRAULIC PUMP AT THE NEXT SERVICE WHEN THE WINGS ARE OFF ,DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT RENEWING THE COUPLIG IT REALLY IS A BADLY ENGINEERED EFFORT ,THATS WHY MORGAN SWITCHED TO ELECTRO HYDRAULIC DRIVE ENGIEERED BY BMW..NEED I SAY MORE ... I AM STILL BAFFLED ,WHY MORGAN DID NOT RECALL ALL S1 AEROS FITTED WITH THEIR MECHANICAL PUMP ON SAFETY GROUNDS .....SIMONG

However S1 Mechanical Pumps are not susceptible to intermittent failure due to heat soak issues....