Hey gang - haven't posted in a while, and like a long lost relative when you win the lottery, I've returned because I need something.

My PS pump just gave up the ghost today - no warning at all; no whining, no odd steering feel, nada. It worked on the way to the office then, ironically, I started it at lunchtime to take it to the mechanic for a A/C system recharge and - bam - no power steering. (There wasn't a 'bam' sound - it just didn't work. )

While the mechanic was doing the A/C recharge he looked at the P/S and said he thought it was the pump. I've read the shafts on these fail around 100k miles so it makes sense. As far as I know this is the original pump; car is now at ~149k miles. I also don't want to entertain the thought of spending $1200 for a rack, so I'm blindly hoping it is, in fact, the pump.

Looking at replacements, the only thing available at FCP Euro is the $593 OEM BMW pump. ECS Tuning is even worse; over $600.00. There are other pumps - the LF-30 for example, and some really cheap crap on eBay and even Amazon - which for obvious reasons are not appealing. I've read the LF-30 is a bit over-boosted and affects the feel on the ZHP. Ideally I'd like something close to new, like a remanufactured OEM LF-20, but there don't seem to be any out there. FCP Euro has another one from S-tec for $354 but they're backordered with "no ETA" which obviously won't work. Can't really drive the car without a pump; way too hard to turn in parking lot situations - not to mention it's much harder on the steering linkage. So I need to order something asap.

Has anyone had success with an aftermarket LF-20? Got a source?