powersteering

I have a '96 with the 2.5l motor and a 5 speed. I just had a minor surgery and will be out of work for a few weeks so I'm going to adress some things now. After letting the jeep warm up and driving it a ways the powersteering pump whine's pretty loudly. Last summer I replaced the fluid in it with synthetic powersteering fluid and it got a lot quieter... The pump that's in it was replaced about 4 years ago when it was my girlfriends. I'm planning to replace it, but wondering if there is anything else I should check that could be causing it to wear out prematurely?

I have the same set-up, year, motor, trans, 2 doors . . .
Lots of things can whine under the hood and be hard to track down. My power steering pump howled when worked hard and was pretty quiet when cool. Fine of the freeway, terrible off road.

When I swapped it out I added a bigger transparent remote tank (from the J.Y., from, IIRC, a Isuzu pickup) so I can keep an eye on the level, plus a motorcycle oil cooler that I mounted behind the grill next to the radiator.

I haven't had a problem since no matter how fast and long the twisties are driven.

Mike

whine is typically a result of cavitation... air in the fluid. A bad pump with a worn impeller is typically suspect but other possibilities include under/over filling, and a leak that is allowing air to be sucked in

Thanks for the ideas. I will look into leaks where air could get .