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Drive with dying power steering pump or remove belt

sbilbrey

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Marysville, Ohio
99 Cherokee. Stuck in a shopping center parking lot about 5 miles from home. Power steering pump out, it turns but I can see the pulley moving around (bad bearings) and making a heck of a racket. My question is:

1. Do I try to drive it home (65 mph) with the power steering like it is and hope it lasts till I get home?

2. Do I disconnect the belt and drive it home with no waterpump and no alternator? It will be almost all highway, it is cold and rainy, so I am not to concerned about overheating. Also, I can run the heat. It will require wipers, but I don't need the headlights, and the battery is brand new.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,
Sammer
 
Even in those conditions I'd be more concerned about overheating than I would about the power steering. I'm NO expert, but if it were me....I would not pull the belt. You already know the steering is toast so why an another element that could add to a failure. Again, I'm not a professional mechanic but I've heard that without coolant flowing the engine can overheat in about a minute or two. It would be awful to get home and have a bad power steering pump, and a cracked head.....although you do have a 99 so its fairly stout.
 
I wouldn't run without the belt, not going that fast. Remember that without the water pump your driving speed really won't do anything to help you, it'll only hurt you. If you aren't worried about the shaft snapping and the pulley falling off and losing the belt, drive it home with the belt still on, otherwise get a belt that'll fit around everything except the power steering and hope it has enough traction on the water pump and alternator pulleys.

Or buy a new pump and install it in the parking lot - shouldn't be too bad, it's only a few bolts.
 
Good. Driving without the water pump is like putting a pan of water on the stove and turning the burner up to HI--it is gonna boil!
 
I was driving my '98 from Marietta, GA to Hendersonville, NC several years ago when my power steering pump went out. Drove from Greenville, SC to Hendersonville, stopping every 10-15 min. to add more fluid just to keep the screaming down.
 
OK, Got the Jeep towed, forgot about my AAA membership. Replaced the power steering pump in the comfort of my dry and warm garage. Thanks for the advice guys, probably avoided more work.

Sammer
 
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