mhopton
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Marietta, GA
...was to get to the bottom of my steering/drifting woes. Two different shops checked alignment with the same specs and all were good except caster was a bit low at 5.9 degrees. All suspension and steering components checked out but it was determined that the PS pump was going bad. It wasn't building pressure and really whining.
The truck is a 99, daily driver, auto, classic trim, 231 tc, 4x4 and 91k miles. I'm no mechanic, banker actually, and I'd rate my mechanic's skills a 5 on a scale of 1-10. That said, I'm not scared to give stuff a try.
So, I started with the PS pump. I followed Stu's website for instructions and with the exception of not being smart enough to remove the auxiliary fan, it went smoothly, except for trying to get the 11/32nds return hose onto the metal fitting from the gear box. That joker worked me over. I finally found the best way to get it on was to place a couple of small slits on the inside of the hose, lube it and work it on. Taking out the airbox is a must to have room to work.
After bleeding, I drove around and still had similar symptoms and the pump was really working hard to work the steering gear. So, I went up to Autozone and picked up a reman ATSCO gear for $118 with a $15 core. I used a Napa PS pump and rented the puller/pusher from autozone. The pulley was no problem to get on/off. The PS pump took probaby 2.5-3 hours total - mostly due to the return line. Again, I'm no mechanic.
I started early this AM on the steering gear. I removed the airbox and aux fan this time and found that the swaybar was in the way of the big bolt on the pittman. After breaking those brackets free and swinging that bar down and out of the way, I had good access to the pittman arm nut. The nut came off with a good soaking of PB Blaster and the rented pittman arm puller. Make sure you check when you borrow one from autozone, I took home the one for small cars the first trip and had to swap it earlier this morning.
The steering shaft came out no problem with the gear installed - it had enough rearward give to slide off the front of the box. The hi/lo pressure lines were a real beyotch and took some liberal soaking with PB blaster to break loose. The low pressure line even cracked my flair wrench head!!!
Now, for removing the gear from the frame, those bolts are in there good with blue loc-tite. It was a lot of work with a cheater bar to break them free. The forward, upper most bolt was not only really tough to get too, but was extremely tight. There's only room for one clik of the ratchet and that's a long thread to go a clik at a time.
Reverse was no problem. Getting the gear up and in place wasn't too bad although pretty dang heavy. The hi/lo pressure lines went back in no problem and the steering shaft slid right back on. From there, the pittman bolt got tightened down to 180lb ft of torque and the sway bar bolted back in. The only problem on the pittman arm bolt is it doesn't seat all the way at the top of the shaft on this unit the way it did on the OEM shaft. There's probably 1/4-3/8" from the top of the nut to the bottom of the housing showing. It's on there correctly and torqued correctly, so I guess it's ok.
From there, I bled the system, bolted the rest back together and took it for a drive. It is better than it was although I think there may be still some air in the system. Total time on the steering gear was about 5.5-6 hours. That included making breakfast and a trip to autozone for a 33mm socket for the pittman bolt.
Total parts cost, ~$225. The last shop I went to quoted $385 just for the PS Pump. I was glad I didn't hit any real snags. My arms, knuckles and hands are sore and bruised, but I feel like I know my way around my Jeep better than I did before. Plus, I like saving money...
:eyes:
Any good links for bleeding the system again? Getting used to the steering characteristics has been a challenge for me. I'm used to a front-wheel drive honda with rack and pinion steering that is super easy and smooth. This Jeep def. has different driving characteristic.
mike
The truck is a 99, daily driver, auto, classic trim, 231 tc, 4x4 and 91k miles. I'm no mechanic, banker actually, and I'd rate my mechanic's skills a 5 on a scale of 1-10. That said, I'm not scared to give stuff a try.
So, I started with the PS pump. I followed Stu's website for instructions and with the exception of not being smart enough to remove the auxiliary fan, it went smoothly, except for trying to get the 11/32nds return hose onto the metal fitting from the gear box. That joker worked me over. I finally found the best way to get it on was to place a couple of small slits on the inside of the hose, lube it and work it on. Taking out the airbox is a must to have room to work.
After bleeding, I drove around and still had similar symptoms and the pump was really working hard to work the steering gear. So, I went up to Autozone and picked up a reman ATSCO gear for $118 with a $15 core. I used a Napa PS pump and rented the puller/pusher from autozone. The pulley was no problem to get on/off. The PS pump took probaby 2.5-3 hours total - mostly due to the return line. Again, I'm no mechanic.
I started early this AM on the steering gear. I removed the airbox and aux fan this time and found that the swaybar was in the way of the big bolt on the pittman. After breaking those brackets free and swinging that bar down and out of the way, I had good access to the pittman arm nut. The nut came off with a good soaking of PB Blaster and the rented pittman arm puller. Make sure you check when you borrow one from autozone, I took home the one for small cars the first trip and had to swap it earlier this morning.
The steering shaft came out no problem with the gear installed - it had enough rearward give to slide off the front of the box. The hi/lo pressure lines were a real beyotch and took some liberal soaking with PB blaster to break loose. The low pressure line even cracked my flair wrench head!!!
Now, for removing the gear from the frame, those bolts are in there good with blue loc-tite. It was a lot of work with a cheater bar to break them free. The forward, upper most bolt was not only really tough to get too, but was extremely tight. There's only room for one clik of the ratchet and that's a long thread to go a clik at a time.
Reverse was no problem. Getting the gear up and in place wasn't too bad although pretty dang heavy. The hi/lo pressure lines went back in no problem and the steering shaft slid right back on. From there, the pittman bolt got tightened down to 180lb ft of torque and the sway bar bolted back in. The only problem on the pittman arm bolt is it doesn't seat all the way at the top of the shaft on this unit the way it did on the OEM shaft. There's probably 1/4-3/8" from the top of the nut to the bottom of the housing showing. It's on there correctly and torqued correctly, so I guess it's ok.
From there, I bled the system, bolted the rest back together and took it for a drive. It is better than it was although I think there may be still some air in the system. Total time on the steering gear was about 5.5-6 hours. That included making breakfast and a trip to autozone for a 33mm socket for the pittman bolt.
Total parts cost, ~$225. The last shop I went to quoted $385 just for the PS Pump. I was glad I didn't hit any real snags. My arms, knuckles and hands are sore and bruised, but I feel like I know my way around my Jeep better than I did before. Plus, I like saving money...
:eyes:Any good links for bleeding the system again? Getting used to the steering characteristics has been a challenge for me. I'm used to a front-wheel drive honda with rack and pinion steering that is super easy and smooth. This Jeep def. has different driving characteristic.
mike
