Pete M Posted November 5, 2014 Posted November 5, 2014 the power steering in my 96 XJ feels ok except at idle. at idle it feels like it's simply not there. but if I give it even just a teensy bit of gas pedal, it instantly comes back. failing pump? I've bleed the thing repeatedly with no effect. the fluid looks clean and doesn't foam. and it doesn't sound all that bad. :dunno: I know the previous owner had a leak that was addressed by just dumping more fluid in each week (I've since replaced the leaky hose). dunno if it was ever run dry.
mnkyboy Posted November 5, 2014 Posted November 5, 2014 When mine did that it was the relief valve coming apart, eventually it unthreaded all the way and I lost powersteering completely. I opened it up, put it back together and it worked fine again.
Pete M Posted November 5, 2014 Author Posted November 5, 2014 interesting. is that something the shop manual would cover? I assume the valve is inside the pump?
mnkyboy Posted November 6, 2014 Posted November 6, 2014 Its under the line on top of the pump. Not sure if its covered in the manual.
joester1908 Posted November 6, 2014 Posted November 6, 2014 Mine does the exact same thing. Here's the real crazy part: When I lifted my Jeep, I used my dads steering box and power steering pump that already had a drop pitman, and I gave him my power steering box (he took the lift off his XJ right as I put one on my MJ, it worked perfectly, actually). On his XJ, with my power steering pump and box, the power steering worked perfectly. With his pump and box on my Jeep, same issue. Coincidence? Probably. But something doesn't make sense... :???:
Pete M Posted November 7, 2014 Author Posted November 7, 2014 sooooooo, that middle piece. does it pop out or anything? :dunno: I see nothing down the hole, nor can I get (if the bottom of the hole is indeed the top of the middle piece) anything to move. Is this a procedure where I need to remove the pump and smash it vigorously on the pavement? also, car-part.com shows my pump interchanging with 97+ jeeps, if that means anything.
Pete M Posted November 7, 2014 Author Posted November 7, 2014 got it. had to stick a ratchet extension down the hole and tap it with a hammer, but it's all freed up. going to reassemble now and take it for a test drive. :crossfingers:
Zebvance Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 mine has been doing the same thing and its a new power steering pump, lines, pully. I also have a new 99 durango gear box in mine.
Pete M Posted November 7, 2014 Author Posted November 7, 2014 well, it works, then it stops working. this blows.
Zebvance Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 well, it works, then it stops working. this blows. Let me know when you track down the problem so I can fix it also. I thought It had something to do with me putting a durango steering box in.
Pete M Posted November 7, 2014 Author Posted November 7, 2014 I'm fairly certain that little plunger next to the spring in the above photo is getting jammed in there. don't know how to address it though. :dunno:
mnkyboy Posted November 7, 2014 Posted November 7, 2014 It definently should move freely in there, the one in the pic I just dumped out into my hand.
Pete M Posted November 8, 2014 Author Posted November 8, 2014 anyone know if the older and newer pumps are interchangeable? I know the bracketry and such is different, but the pumps are tantalizingly similar...
HOrnbrod Posted November 9, 2014 Posted November 9, 2014 Yes, they are interchangable. You're right about the bracketry differences and there are other subtle differences, but they are all Saginaw TC pump variations. My old 91 original pump was tired and leaky, so when I swapped in the quick ratio steering box from a 98 ZJ, I also swapped in a newer pump from a wrecked 04 Wrangler TJ. The only difference was the departure angle of the reservoir return hose nipple, and it worked just fine with both the original bracketry and the newer 1997 and up bracketry I used for the new 01 intake manifold later.
Pete M Posted November 9, 2014 Author Posted November 9, 2014 excellent. as I happen to have a couple 88 PS pumps lying around :D I'm also going to replace the low pressure hose, just for the heck of it.
Pete M Posted November 9, 2014 Author Posted November 9, 2014 actually, I'm going to replace the line first. that'll allow me to cut the old line and check for any flow through the system. might as well pretend to be scientific :D
Jeep Driver Posted November 9, 2014 Posted November 9, 2014 As I had posted here before, all the pumps are interchangeable. This is off a '04 Grand.......what is different is the bracketry and some pumps are threaded and others are not and are for through bolts....these can be threaded as this one is- Image Not Found Thursday I picked up the correct bracket for the MPI intake that I will use on my new engine..........it's really cool how we can mix and match parts here from different years and from 4.0s to 2.5s
Pete M Posted November 13, 2014 Author Posted November 13, 2014 update: changing out the pump cured it. but I wasn't able to reuse either of my older pumps because both had rotted pulley-attaching threads and you cannot use the old pulley on a newer jeep. it's close... close enough to work well enough for me to install one for a few seconds as a proof of concept, but it'll tear up the belt for sure. so I got a new pump and all seems well again. :D
Zebvance Posted November 13, 2014 Posted November 13, 2014 As I had posted here before, all the pumps are interchangeable. This is off a '04 Grand.......what is different is the bracketry and some pumps are threaded and others are not and are for through bolts....these can be threaded as this one is- Image Not Found Thursday I picked up the correct bracket for the MPI intake that I will use on my new engine..........it's really cool how we can mix and match parts here from different years and from 4.0s to 2.5s If this is true, is there a more powerful pump that we can swap over from a different year model? for example like we can do for the 99 durango gearbox?
mvusse Posted November 14, 2014 Posted November 14, 2014 I run an 01-04 WJ pump through-bolted to the stock 87 Renix bracket. Had to use my old 87 pulley for everything to line up because the 01-04 pulley sits out 1/8" further. Pain in the behind because the old pulley does not have the bolt access holes. Had to install the pump first, then install the pulley on it. I did run the new pulley for a couple of weeks trying to figure out why the belt was squeaking.
Jeep Driver Posted November 14, 2014 Posted November 14, 2014 I run an 01-04 WJ pump through-bolted to the stock 87 Renix bracket. Had to use my old 87 pulley for everything to line up because the 01-04 pulley sits out 1/8" further. Pain in the behind because the old pulley does not have the bolt access holes. Had to install the pump first, then install the pulley on it. I did run the new pulley for a couple of weeks trying to figure out why the belt was squeaking. Image Not Found
HOrnbrod Posted November 14, 2014 Posted November 14, 2014 No need to swap pulleys or drill bolt access holes if you are swapping a 91-04 pump into a 91 or 92 MJ.
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now