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Power Steering

XJWheelie

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Murfreesboro, TN
I have a 1994 and a 2001 Jeep Cherokee. The 1994 is my rock crawler and I'm going to sell it, but my question is about the 2001.

In the 1994 the steering is effortless, easily turns when stopped by just palming the steering wheel. The 2001 requires more effort and always has.

Is the power steering pump different in these 2 model years or is it something else? And what would I need to do in order to make the 2001 easier to spin with 1 hand from a parked position?

There's nothing wrong with the 2001, the ones from that year all seem to be about the same. But I'm a paraplegic, so I'm working hand controls with 1 hand and the steering with the other and I'd like to make it easier to spin.
 
I don't know if they're the same or not. I don't think so, but I do know that something is different in terms of steering. I think that they changed it at some point to give more road feedback, as the 1994 doesn't give much feedback at all.

And it might not be the power steering pump, but something else entirely. I can setup a differential, but I honestly don't know much about how the power steering system works, beyond the bare basics.
 
on my 90 you could steer it with your pinky. i think it got stiffer when i swapped out the steering box. it might just be that the 94 has warn a bit.
 
That could be. The 94 has always been a lot easier to turn.

Maybe I need to put some grinding compound in the steering box of the 01. :looser:
 
The late models have a different steering box with less assist, for more road feel. I drove Cal's little red XJ the other day and was like WTF? after driving my MJ. Big difference for sure.
 
^^ what he said.

some people swap a 97+ box in to get more road feel.

others swap an earlier box into a late model for less road feel.

parts house boxes are a crapshoot with you will get, and they all suck.
 
So by switching out the steering box will I need other parts or just the steering box?
 
Cool! I've never done that one before, but it shouldn't be too hard, except for a bit of a pain bleeding the hydraulic lines.

Thanks
 
That's true but the MJ is a little light in the rear giving the feeling of being lighter.

I just did my son's 01 and the biggest pain was the fittings. You can strip them easy. It's an 18mm btw so be prepared for that one. Also, flush the system. I used an old milf jug and ran 2 pints of fluid through the system until i felt it was clean. It can be messy too so keep those gas soaked rags around to clean up the PS fluid.

I taped the aluminum spacer to the steering box to hold it in place which was a life saver.

Last tip, run a tap through the three 5/16-18 holes on the that are threaded hole for mounting. I found the hard way after getting it bolted up and the one then noticing the last was just stripped a little...

Good luck
 
That's true but the MJ is a little light in the rear giving the feeling of being lighter.

I just did my son's 01 and the biggest pain was the fittings. You can strip them easy. It's an 18mm btw so be prepared for that one. Also, flush the system. I used an old milf jug and ran 2 pints of fluid through the system until i felt it was clean. It can be messy too so keep those gas soaked rags around to clean up the PS fluid.

I taped the aluminum spacer to the steering box to hold it in place which was a life saver.

Last tip, run a tap through the three 5/16-18 holes on the that are threaded hole for mounting. I found the hard way after getting it bolted up and the one then noticing the last was just stripped a little...

Good luck

I like milf jugs, too!
 
You may or may not find this helpful...
Consider new lines if you are replacing the steering box. Or even just removing lines from the box for some reason.
If the lines are originals, the fittings in the box will likely be almost frozen in place. If you try to use anything other than a proper line wrench you will likely strip the fittings. It is also a bitch to get in without a crows foot line wrench on the end of a long extension.
I had a leaky line and I didn't have the proper crows foot line wrench so I asked a friend of mine if I could borrow his. His answer was to just cut the metal line off at the fitting and use a regular socket. Duh!!! I used a bolt cutter to cut most of the way through the metal line then just wiggled it back and forth till it broke off. It only took a few seconds. Then I slipped a regular 6 point deep stock over the fitting and took it off. It really made the job easier than it would have been. With a 6 point socket you get 360 degree contact with the fitting lessening the chance of stripping as stubborn fitting. The new lines can be carefully tightened with a regular open end wrench. A new set of quality lines from NAPA were only $40 or $50 for both and if you have original lines that are 15 or 20 years old they could probably use replacing anyway.
 
my quick question on the lines, on the return line, could I put a filter in there somewhere? And my pump pukes a little fluid around the cap, is that a normal thing when the caps get old? sorry if this is a highjack, just figured its easier to post on an active thread about the subject, 99 XJ
 
Thanks, that was indeed a big help. I'm one of those stubborn people that would spend 1/2 of the day trying to work around things when I could just do what you mentioned and save myself all of that time
 
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