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Burning through power steering pumps

7K views 33 replies 20 participants last post by  paulvon 
#1 ·
Hi all,

On my 4th power steering pump installed by same shop. They put a cardone PS pump on there less than a month a ago and it too has a leak. They claim its due to my bigger tires over stressing the seals. I Have 31" tires on. I trust this shop as they have serviced this twice already free of charge and have done good work in the past. Would like any ideas on how to address this and stop this slow PS leak that keeps happening.

Cheers
 
#6 ·
It’s not your tires. Get a genuine mopar pump. My original lasted 14 years. Got my second genuine mopar pump from kolak in 2015 and have had no issues. I also have the hydraulic fan which arguably places more stress on the pump than SLIGHTLY larger tires but I also run 31”s.
 
#8 ·
There's seemingly an issue with the majority of brands of replacement steering pumps for the WJ. I've stopped selling pumps as a result. I've tried brand new Mopar, remanufactured Mopar, brand new Crown and brand new Cardone and they all fail fast. Your best bet is to get one locally at Autozone, O'reilly etc so at least you can easily warranty exchange it when if fails.
 
#9 ·
It appears there may be a simple install error on the o-ring for the reservoir as detailed here:

https://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f31...4-7-v8-power-steering-pump-reservoir-4282457/

Given that many pumps are rebuilt by the same company and simply labeled under different brands, it stands to reason that most of these are failing/leaking in the same fashion (a cursory search on here seems to indicate that's what is happening).

This has shades of the great Vari-Lok/Non-Vari-Lok CV axle issue from 8 years ago or so. A1 Cardone had the improper part numbers listed for Vari-Lok CV axles, leading to one of the sides being too short to properly engage the carrier in the front axle. Since A1 Cardone, at the time, supplied a large portion of reman CV axles for various brands there were tons of people getting the wrong axle shafts from various suppliers.
 
#10 ·
Reman pumps are always a crap shoot. Especially any overseas stuff. You can look into redhead steering or Lares. Both here stateside and do decent work. I ran a WJ pump on my XJ, never an issue. That was also with 33's locked. Shop claiming that your tires is the cause is BS. Where is it leaking from?
 
#11 ·
I would try putting a filter on the power steering return line. If there is any contamination it might be causing a problem.

I have replaced my pump filled the system but I still had an issue with my hydraulic fan until I did that.

Sent using Tapatalk
 
#12 ·
It seems like I came across a rebuild kit for the pump once and it only had a few parts. Maybe they're not too hard to do? The seals and bearing(s) are probably off-the-shelf components that could be sourced from trusted or good quality manufacturers.

The thing is, when one goes out you tend to need it yesterday. Swapping out an entire pump is a known quantity for time and expense whereas attempting a rebuild is more uncertain, which is why I haven't attempted or really looked into it yet. Between two WJs and about 13 years of ownership, I've gone through, I think, 5 pumps myself. I'm not hard on them and I have no suspension mods.
 
#14 · (Edited)
#15 ·
Hi! I have a 2000 WJ w/4.7 and had a problem much like this. I first purchased a Mopar rebuilt online and it leaked badly after installation. Since the vehicle was non-operable and I need it for transportation I went up to OReilly and bought another rebuilt pump of whatever their brand offered was, and it leaked, too! I returned it for another rebuilt and AGAIN I had a leak!!! What solved the problem? A NEW pump. Apparently most of the power steering pumps do not leak because of bearings or seals, but because the reservoir rusts thru on the backside (where you can't see because it is a fraction of an inch from the housing/body or the pump). They rebuild the actual mechanism but the problem was always the actual reservoir. They say that they test them, and there was always a thin layer of power steering fluid in the rebuilt pumps, but I guess they don't do a very good job of doing so or just look at the bearings/seals, etc and not the actual tank that isn't in clear site anyway. Hope this helps...
 
#16 ·
When my (assumed) original pump failed I went through several replacement pumps within a 12-14 month period before getting one that worked.

The shop who fitted the last one told me they fitted one that just plainly didn't work and had to get another one. And when they got that one mounted, it was pretty difficult to get all the air pockets out of the system. In fact they kept it an extra day to get it just right.

Immediately when I picked I could hear it sounded different that the previous ones, and it felt more like I remember the original one too. No vibrations or feeling "rough running". It's hard to explain, but it just felt "right". It worked flawlessly and I'm sure the guy I sold my rig too two years later is getting good service from it too.

I ran 265/65-17 tires (so 30.6"). I'm pretty sure that contributed to the dodgy pumps failing earlier, but I am equally convinced it made no difference on the original and the properly working replacement.

I second getting a pump from a place where it's easy to get warranty replacements without having to deal with shipping fees and delays. Also, make absolutely sure the shop uses the right fluid; I'm suspicious the first replacement failed due to the shop (different shop than the other ones), not being familiar with the WJs, used standard steering fluid.
 
#19 ·
Curious to know were the leak is and if it was the same area each time. The most stress on a P/S pump is not the width or size of the tire but the wheel/tire offset. The more the offset the more stress on the pump especially in slow speeds. Ford found out this the hard way in the early 2000 with there 250/350 SD. In those cases if you applied the brakes and tried to steer at the same time you couldn't. Yes a lot of accidents. No Ford never owned up to it. The more offset from the center point which is the ball joint center line were the steering swivels the harder it is to steer especially if the brakes are applied. Hence more stress on the pump. To test just apply the brake hard while parked and see how much effort it takes to rotate the steering wheel compared to brakes not applied. If neutral offset then it should make no difference on steering effort, if it is difficult then there is to much +/- offset since the brake rotor needs to rotate even while parked do to the offset. But find out if the leak is coming from the same place my money is a cracked pressure line at the pump fitting seen it many times.
 
#21 ·
How did it fail or where is it leaking from? The most common place is the grommet that seals the reservoir to the pump. I bought a rebuild kit from NAPA for 12 bucks used the grommet in the kit and its been all good now for 2 years. PSP's should last forever. They are only under pressure when you are turning the wheels. On the straightaway, they just sit there. I have never had one go bad on any of the vehicles that I have owned that had power steering, except for that grommet on my 2000 WJ. Most manufacturers make the pump and reservoir one unit. The only 2 part pump that I have ever seen in on this Jeep and most have metal vs. plastic reservoirs. My personal preference is not to even have power steering in a vehicle. If you can't muscle a car around as we did in the old days, maybe you should not be driving.
 
#23 ·
I'm getting ready to replace the pump in my '99 WJ 4.0/42RE/Select Trac Laredo with 265/70/16's on the front. The pump whines LOUD at rest with engine running and louder turning and going down the road. It's been doing this for 2 years, started with the stock tire size and hasn't gotten any worse with larger replacement tires. There is no bubbling in the reservoir, no foaming standing still or turning the steering wheel, also the hoses, pump and reservoir do not leak a drop. There is 170K on the odo, runs and drives more like 70K, ice cold AC, everything works like new except the manual climate control temperature plastic where it is red or blue the plastic is disintegrated you can see into the mechanism and bulbs.

With all the leaky replacements you all have me paranoid to replace my pump. For the record, I believe it's the bearing that is noisy. We have a NAPA Pro store about 2 blocks down I was going to get a pump from them and swap it here before long. I hesitate to spend the extra money for the Mopar pump, although pretty much everything on it is genuine Mopar, except for the shocks and brakes. I do not have the hydraulic clutch fan, only the electric fan, and the compressor is quiet, I checked everything with a stethoscope and it's 100% PS pump bearing howl. Napa PS pump or Mopar? I'm a retired tech, I have the tools and do all own work, so cost is not a factor. A PS pump bearing that howls and doesn't leak or have hydraulic/other issues is a new one to me. I've seen a pinhole in the return line cause the pump to howl, but again, it's the bearing not the pump itself.
 
#24 ·
I just bought a 2001 and the power steering pump was replaced 2 months ago. I drove it 1000 miles from CA to WY. Half way through the trip I noticed a loud whining around 2500-3500 RPM. I noticed the PS fluid was non-existent. I filled it and the noise went away. But now there is a major leak. It pools up on the oil filter and drips down.

Any way to know if this is from the hose or the pump itself? I can replace it myself but I'm not sure it needs a new pump since the new one is only 2 months old.
 
#26 ·
You can't rule out the pump since everything I read indicates that remanufactured pumps are notoriously unreliable. Its hard for me to believe that anybody would replace a pump without also replacing BOTH hoses, but I'm sure its been done. It should be easy to look and see where the fluid is coming from. Check where the hoses connect to things. Hoses rarely leak anyplace but where they connect to either the pump or steering box itself. Did you check to make sure that those connections are nice and tight? Might just be loose. As far as I know, the most likely place for a leak in the pump would be the grommet between the reservoir and the pump. But it can also leak in the area behind the pulley.
 
#27 · (Edited)
WJ is in the shop now. They called and told me that its the high pressure hose to hydraulic fan that is leaking. They are replacing it for$300 total, $110 for the part. price seems steep for both hose and labour. I am hoping to be done with this PS after this for awhile.

Also they stressed that the 31' tires in combination to the hydraulic fan is what causing these parts to fail.
 
#29 ·
New high pressure hose added. They claimed that my fan is restricting flow and causing the system to burst and this new PS pump and line. The wj did take some damage at some point as there is a bit of a wobble in the fan. I believe there is damage in the bearing, not sure. I would like to repair it myself. Ugh I'll Just Empty Every Pocket
 
#31 ·
Listen, seriously. Those things have got to be bled completely. They won't or can't self-bleed anytime soon after installation. What's worse is that you will absolutely aerate the hydro fluid just by running it before it is bled and that will also make it whine. It will need hours for that aeration to settle out of it.

The way I understand the bleed procedure is that you jack up the front end to take the load off the wheels. Then you rotate the steering wheel all the way in each direction a full thirty times. That is, one cycle is all the way left then all the way right. The last one I did *still* seemed a little wonky after I did this for a short while after I bled it this way.

I'm not accusing anyone of installing the pumps improperly but I would like to point out that it normally isn't necessary to bleed a power steering pump in some cases at all or in other cases so extensively. Any shop other than a Mopar shop may not be remembering or may not know that it needs to be done this way.
 
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