Clicking Power Steering Pump, Belt, Pulley, or...?

[NickyV]

Hey all! Before I go through the trouble of pulling my power steering pump again, I wanted to consult the community. I've got a clicking sound that seems to be related to the belt, a pulley wheel, or something like that.

 

I am fairly sure that I've isolated this issue. I'm 90-ish% sure it is something related to the power steering pump. So, over this past weekend, I replaced my pump. The symptoms seem to have improved, but it's not fixed. I don't want to drive the truck too much until I get this fixed, because I'm worried that this is an issue that will get worse over time.

 

The Issue: Clicking Noise Speeds Up & Slows Down w/ RPM

I first noticed this shortly after I had power steering installed. I would post a video, but I bet the moment I pull out my camera, it won't make the sound. Plus I find that engine noises don't translate that well over phone cameras. Essentially, it is a click. I don't think it's a chirp, although it's kinda like a chirp. But let's call it a click. And it speeds up or slows down with engine speed.

 

What I've Done So Far

1. - I've done the water/soap test. That seems to make the noise go away.
2. - I've run the engine without the belt hooked up: No clicking noise.
3. - I've replaced the pump (just the pump... not the gearbox). I did this because after I took the belt off, I observed that the pulley seemed to wobble a bit. Kinda like the pulley shaft was loose or not fitting right into the pump housing. I figured it might be a bad bearing. I thought about just replacing the bearing, but that seemed like a ton of work and I realized it could have been a busted vane or something else, so I just replaced the entire pump.

 

What I Haven't Done

1. I have not tried to run the belt without the Power Steering Pump connected. That would involve reinstalling the old flywheel that was in pump's place. I may try to do so next weekend.
2. I have not tried to install a new belt or treat the belt with some kind of product.
3. I have not tried a new pulley wheel (I think this my next step). The current pulley wheel is kinda beat up.

 

My Questions

1. Anyone Experience This? If so, were you able to fix it?
2. Pulley Wheel Recommendations? I see a lot of different pulley wheels at a lot of different price points.
3. Belt Tension: How much do I need to obsess over belt tension? Got recommendations for a quality belt tension measuring tool that won't break the bank? I've just been doing belt tension by the Goldilocks Method. Not too stiff not to loose. But maybe I need to step up my game.
4. Pulley Alignment: How much do I need to obsess over pulley wheel alignment? My current theory is that the clicking has something to do with the pulley wheel itself. It's kind of beat up and has a few chips in the grooves. I also thought that maybe I need to be more obsessive over the alignment of the pulley wheels. I know that there are laser pulley wheel alignment tools but the ones I've seen so far are expensive! If I can rent one, I would be willing to do that to get the alignment perfect.
5. Better Power Steering Pumps: I'm currently running a TruGrade pump #7081. I think that is what was in there previously, as well. It seems like there were two types of pumps that Jeep used originally. One was the "Ham Shaped" one. That is not the one I have. Picture of my pump is below. Maybe I need to get a different type of pump?

 

This is the pump I'm currently running. Napa Auto Parts says this is the only one that fits my vehicle.

 

There are other types of PS pumps (but maybe they are for the 4.0, and I have the 2.5). This is the other style of pump:

 

[89 MJ]

Sounds to me like its the belt. I would just replace it. I've never used a belt tension measuring tool, the goldilocks method has done fine by me.

[hgeranium]

In regards to belt tension, get the Gates Krikit II tension gauge. I found that, when eyeballing my belt tension without it to what I 'thought' was tight, was actually about 80ft/lbs when a broken-in belt needs to be at 150ft/lbs! This is the only tool you'll have to buy ever for this purpose and it's super easy to use. Other than that, my bet would be on one of the pulleys being off. The vehicle will drive fine with an under/overtorqued belt but can cause things like the alternator to not produce enough voltage (undertorqued) or prematurely wear out pulleys/bearings/pumps/alternators (overtorqued). A single $35 investment is worth it for the peace of mind.

 

Even with my belt being almost half of the correct tension, there was ZERO audible whining, clicking, etc. It may be anecdotal evidence, but I think a sound like that is more likely to come from a pulley than the belt. If the belt is old, then you might as well replace it, but I highly recommend getting the right tool to tension it. With a brand new belt, you'll want to tension it to ~180ft/lbs as it'll stretch out and will loosen up to the 150ft/lbs that you want. You should check it after a week or two of regular driving.

 

I think the most logical course of action is trying a new pulley wheel since it seems like an easy fix. If it's not too much work, it would definitely help to try to get it started without the PS pump just to isolate whether or not it's a problem.

[NickyV]

Well... Now I'm reading up on this a bit more and I'm seeing lots of posts that say the pulley for the 2.5L is hard to find. Anyone know anything about that?