Power Steering woes???

99 xj, 4.0, 4x4, 155,000 mls.

A few months ago I noticed my exhaust manifold was cracked so I figured while I had the manifolds off I would go ahead and replace my super loose steering gear box as well as the ps pump. So I went ahead and did the Durango box upgrade(Oreilleys rebuilt) along with a stock xj ps pump(Oreilleys rebuild also) and a C-Rok spacer and frame brace.

Things have been fine for 2-3 months then Sunday I turned with my wheel as far as it would go and when I came out of the turn I had no power steering? So Monday I stopped at Oreilleys and picked up a replacement pump. Monday night I put the new pump on and never seemed to be able to get it completely bled. So I jacked up the whole front end, started the Jeep and cycled the steering back and fourth for around five minutes, did this 2-3 times and between each time I would shut it down and check the fluid levels. Fluid went from milky with bubbles to clean good looking fluid with no bubbles but I still had the screeching until I revved the engine to around 2000 rpm's then it finally stopped. So I thought i had it figured out....On the way home from work at every stop it would start the screeching and my volts would drop to between 8-10.

So Tuesday a couple of people told me to tighten the belt. I didn't want to go too tight because of the too much tension on pulleys issue. So I tightened it up pretty good and everything went to normal, no screeching, ps worked great...until about 2 miles into my drive home, lost my ps again.

Not sure what to do here? Maybe try another pump, different brand, Autozone maybe. Could I have possible burnt up this pump driving it with a loose belt? Not sure if you have ever heard one of these pumps when they are not happy, it will blow out your eardrums!

Do I need to upgrade my pump to the bigger Grand Cherokee pump to handle the bigger gear box?

Any ideas, any help would be great.

Your PS pump won't cause the voltage to drop. It sounds like you have a bad alternator.

Well, could the belt being loose have caused the voltage to drop? It is fine right at 14 now that the belt is tight.

A few months back I posted my own thread on here about power steering woes. I had gone through 3 boxes and 3 or 4 pumps,, thinking I was getting crappy remans. My symptom sounds similar to yours, in that my PS would work fine for a bit and then mysteriously seize up. I finally got a box and pump combo on there that seemed to work, but then it happened one last time on a road trip. That time, enough pressure had built up to cause a pinhole leak in the high pressure hose. I swapped out the hose and haven't had a problem since. Even though I removed that hose for inspection and to blow it out during my series of pump and box swaps, I'm convinced it was the hose all along. My theory is that the hose would heat up and somehow swell shut. For less than $20, it might be worth a try for you.