Power Steering Pump Shaft Snapped

[bandice]

Hey guys,

Around 3 weeks ago i was doing some aggressive driving in my 130i. After some hard corners i suddenly felt my steering was extremely rough. This driving was not anything abnormal to how i have driven in the past. I took it to my mechanic who sent the power steering pump away to possibly be reconditioned rather than buying a new one. When i received word back I was told that i had broken the shaft inside the pump. So i ended up buying a new power steering pump, genuine BMW for $800. The new power steering pump is running perfectly and the steering feel super smooth
From what i know it is more common to break the bearings in the power steering pump as opposed to cracking the shaft. I did not hear any loud snapping noise as i was driving although i'm not sure if i would be able to hear anything from the engine and exhaust noise. I just thought i would share this with you guys, i have the old power steering pump so i took some photos to show what it looks like.

power steering pump


broken shaft

[Artesian]

That's a metal problem in the shaft. I hope it was only a few pumps with brittle steel!

Either that or it is the increased mechanical fatigue from driving on the wrong side of the road. ;-P