Power steering leak

Well, there's a puddle of power steering fluid under the XJ. I checked & it seems it's coming from somewhere below the pump - no runs from the top or sides. I started her up & cycled the steering wheel left & right a few times, but I saw no dripping. I do have a Durango box swapped in, but the leak doesn't seem to be coming from the box itself. I know this might be a little vague, but I'm a novice & do have questions:

What do you suppose is leaking? Fitting? Hose? The pump itself?
Should I just put some Stop Leak in there & forget it?
Will it be safe to drive w/ the leak? The shop is a ways away ...

Thanks for any advice.

my pinion seal has been leaking since september. i'm gonna use a turkey baster and pull some old nasty fluid out, put in lucas power steering stop leak (stuff is awesome) and call it a day.

just dont let it run dry.

Shortly after replacing my pump I also developed a hard to track down leak between the pump body and reservoir. The "O" ring went bad on me. After searching at all the usual places including the dealer, I went to the local mom & pop hardware store and bought two proper sized "O" rings in the plumbing section (faucet gaskets) for 80¢.
So far all is well and I have a spare in the tool box.

Mike
P.S. Be sure the plastic tank isn't cracked.

I've found it likes to leak at either the input shaft or the pitman arm.

What year is your XJ?

The hoses get pretty porus after a few years. If they are leaking, they will feel wet on the outside. The high pressure hose it the worst for leakage, you can guess why by the name.

I know you said you don't think it is the box leaking, but did the shop that installed the Durango box open it up, or did they just install it as is, from the Durango?

I would feel the hoses for leakage. The low pressure hoses are at about every parts house. If you need the low pressure (return) hose, you will have trouble finding one. You will probably have to cut a piece of ATF line and put that on the old ends.

If the hoses look good, I would take a rag and completly dry the box, then take if for a drive. Then wipe the box and see if you pick up any steering fluid. When I rebuilt my Durango box, I had a problem with it leaking out around the threads of the over-center adjustment screw in the top of the box. I only found it because the sides of the box were wet. It is pretty obvious if the box is leaking around one of the shafts, but it is difficult to see if it is leaking out of the top.

Let us know what you find.

MoFo

My XJ is a 1992.

Right now, I am at work, it's 2:30 a.m. & I'm just getting back to the thread. I'll check things out better tomorrow, but I can say this: the high pressure hose is dry - I did check it yesterday. Also I'm pretty sure I had it changed not so long ago. I doubt it's the original.
Under the hood is amazingly clean because I *blinged* it less than 2 weeks ago & the Jeep has been sitting for a week. So it shouldn't be too hard to see where the leaking originates. But I didn't get under the XJ because it's parked out front on the street & I was still dressed in girlie clothes.

Pretty sure the box wasn't opened for installation. I'll check things out & come back tomorrow. Might even have pics.

I had the return fitting at the pump fail on the 98. The weld broke allowing fluis to leak past. Was unable to locate just the resevoir so had to replace the entire pump assembly. Made a huge mess...

Well I finally got a chance to check out the location of this leak. My job is getting between me & my XJ ...

Anyway, the box is dusty dry on the outside. The seeping seems to be coming from the power steering pump somewhere on the bottom. Still dunno yet if it's from a fitting or a hose. I had to add a small amount of fluid and for the first time there's an oily spot on the street in front of my house .

I'm hoping it's not something that requires taking things apart. This is not the time of year for spending on repairs.

Sounds like my bad "O" ring problem. First I removed the E-fan (not needed in winter) and air cleaner box for access then cleaned and cleaned to try to find the source of the leak somewhere under the pump. New paper towel on a screwdriver found the spot between the reservoir and pump. Used a turkey baster with extension tube to drain the reservoir, loosened the pump assy. to access the \_/ shaped clamps and pulled the pump and res. apart. Cost for "O" rings from the hardware store; under $1-. Time including cleaning, about an hour.

Mike

i just had this problem. save yourself some time and headache looking for the leak and buy a replacement high side line. the high side line is running pressures around 4000-5000 psi, the crimped ends tend to "blow". i think the line was $25, problem solved.

korn9613 said:

i just had this problem. save yourself some time and headache looking for the leak and buy a replacement high side line. the high side line is running pressures around 4000-5000 psi, the crimped ends tend to "blow". i think the line was $25, problem solved.

Click to expand...

If you mean the hi pressure line ...

mighty.mighty_XJ said:

I'm pretty sure I had it changed not so long ago.

Click to expand...

If not, which do you mean? It'll be a couple days before I'll get another chance to crawl under there to get a better look.

yeah i was referring to the high pressure side line. i couldnt find my leak either, to me it looked like the reservoir had cracked, turned out to be the crimped fitting on that high pressure line, the problem is is you cant see it, it just leaks under that crimp somewhere

UPDATE: Well, when I topped off the fluid on Wednesday, I found laying around, some that already had stop-leak in it, so I used that. Apparently this has well ... stopped the leak. Quite unexpected since I didn't use much at all. And didn't have to buy any fluid. Regardless, there has been no new drips under the XJ.

Wish all my problems in life were this simple ... I'm gonna keep an eye on it tho. I have a feeling I haven't seen the last of this.

well thats good news. you will be miles ahead of a headache down the road if you replace the pump. it is too cheap and easy to do to neglect or rely on stop leak. stop leak works for some not for others, it swells seals and orings which is a band aid. while its still holding, you ought to look into a scrap yard and pull another and keep this one for a backup. nice thing about jeeps, they are everywhere and parts are cheap. glad to hear, leaks suck.

You're absolutely right & I agree ... if it's the pump that's bad. It's been too cold to get under there (yes, I'm a wimp) to see if it's just a loose fitting or something. I imagine if it were such the stop-leak would not have worked. But a swap will be in the works fo' sho'.

On my old XJ I had a really bad leak at the pitman arm. I used some of Lucas' oil additive on the advice of my friend. Sealed it right up. Amazing stuff.