Power steering pressure hose trouble

About two months ago when I bought my Jeep I was told I needed a new pressure hose to pass inspection. I bought one, pulled the old one out, and put the new one on. I installed the o-rings on both ends, but didn't put p/s fluid on them before i tightned everything up. I tightned both ends of the hose about as much as they seemed to be origionally. After that I heard a lot of whirring from the steering. I bled the system a lot, but it didn't fix the problem.

Tonight I noticed I don't have p/s anymore and the top end of the hose isn't connected to the p/s pump anymore. What the hell happened? How could I have avoided it? And what do I do to fix it? Just tighten everything back up again with a little more force???

It's a 91 XJ HO 4L 4x4

Thanks!

Well I reattached the hose and filled up the reservoir with clear p/s fuild. Everything turns okay but the p/s pump makes a nasty whirring noise all the time now, not just when i'm turning. Also, the fluid in the reservoir is light yellow and very foamy. Looks like air is getting in there or something. What the hell is broken?

Sounds like you've got a leak somewhere, I'd suspect on the suction side. You may have damaged the pump if it ran dry. It's not too difficult to replace, you'll need a p/s pulley puller (available as a rental tool) to change it.

No idea why the hose would have come loose, the pressure hose at the pump is a pretty healthy fitting.

Is the leak the reason my p/s fuild's getting espresso froathy?

Yes. A leak on the suction will turn the fluid into froth.

the O rings needed to be coated with ps fluid before you put them on, otherwise they can hold air and cause the whining you heard. I'd recomend pulling them off and coating them, this allows the seal to be tight and the o-rings to last a lot longer before drying and cracking. Also i'd recomend tightening 3 of the 4 connections up, all but the return top connection, and having a buddy turn your wheel left and right, this will fill the gaps and push out any air bubbles.