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steering box or power steering pump?

Demonoid369

Demonoid369

NAXJA Forum User
NAXJA Member
Location
Salem, OR
I'm having troubles trying to figure out which one is giving me grief, I went wheeling the 1st and gotten my front end pretty dug in the snow and couldnt get my wheels to turn no matter how much i tried to turn the wheel. well fast forward to now and I've been having issues with steering, I've pumped out the fliud and changed it twice now to see if anything helps but nothing. when at idle or slow speed(10mph or slower) i cant hardly turn the wheel, and it makes a screach ish noise. but if i push on the gas or going above 10mph it acts normal and steers just fine.now the reason why I'm having issues figuring which one is broke, is because my thoughts are if the steering box is broke, the extra gas and higher rpm is needed to push the power steering pump to move it or if the power steering pump is broken, the rpm and gas is needed to generate the recommend power to turn the steering box.
specs, 97' jeep cherokee se, 4.0l
any input would be greatly appreciated
 
old_man is the expert on the steering box.

Be sure to consider that something in the front end may be binding up, or the serp belt may be slipping, loose or fluid on the belt? Also check the hose-tube assy for problems.

Also there is special procedure for getting the air out if you change the fluid!!!! If not done right, it can cause damage they say.
 
My guess would be the pump.

Double check the fluid level and the belt tension as well. If you stalled the steering, you may have glazed the belt.

Any oil leaks?

They sell rebuild kits for the pumps but I have never rebuilt one. They are cheap enough to just buy another. Do not get one from Autozone. I had mine replaced 5 times in one year.

I might check out RockAuto.com and get a new, not rebuilt one.
 
...aaaaand then there's this:

Did you bend your tie rod? Break a control arm mount, &%$@ up your drag link? Have you looked underneath?
 
ParadiseXJ said:
...aaaaand then there's this:

Did you bend your tie rod? Break a control arm mount, &%$@ up your drag link? Have you looked underneath?
Click to expand...

Rpm's will not fix a busted tie rod.

My bet is that you overheated the pump, it blew out oil onto the belt and the belt is loose.
 
belt tension is a good thing to check...I would go with your pump sounds like at idle it will not build pressure causing the lack of power assist, until throttle is added to speed up the pump to produce enough pressure to aid in steering...a power steering pump pressure test would be good at idle, then another test at 2000 rpms without load, and with load which would be on the pressure tester to simiulate a full lock situation where the pump puts out its highest psi. but if you don't have access to a pressure tester I agree with old man it sounds like the pump
 
old_man said:
My guess would be the pump.

Double check the fluid level and the belt tension as well. If you stalled the steering, you may have glazed the belt.

Any oil leaks?

They sell rebuild kits for the pumps but I have never rebuilt one. They are cheap enough to just buy another. Do not get one from Autozone. I had mine replaced 5 times in one year.

I might check out RockAuto.com and get a new, not rebuilt one.
Click to expand...


I always bought the best Autozone had to offer, new if I could get it, or premium rebuilt. I have never had a problem (15 years) with power steering pumps I bought from them. Last one was 6 months ago for the 1996 Ford.

I was starting to wonder if they shipped all the junk parts to you guys in Ca and Co, :DLOL.

That said the last 2 years I have had all sorts of AZ Durajunk show up that was defective out of the box.

Most notable was a brake drum cut off center by an 1/8". Bad CPS out of the box, new water pump that only lasted 4-6 months. I am reading your steering gear seal kit problems thread with great interest!

I bought half my parts last year from Rock auto. I still get the heavy stuff locally due to sky high freight costs. I have my fingers crossed on the new Renix gear box I got from AZ and installed about 12 weeks ago.
 
Looking at is, I haven't seen any oil or fluids at all. In or around the pump or box, that's why I've been perplexed :/
So as I was in the snow and got the front end dug in. They would tell me to turn my wheel, so I did, that's when the screech noise happened because I was forcing my wheel in the jeep to turn but I know my actual tires and wheels weren't turning.
That's was just in case you guys didn't understand the first part.

I know this is oem section but if my pump is out, what if I got a wj? Reason for asking is this
jenazyme.jpg

At the bottom it's saying to do a cheap upgrade is a wj pump. Are they stronger than the stock Cherokee pumps?
 
hold much tension should I put on the belt? like how many turns? I've already turned the belt tensioner about 1-1/2 turns and it kinda turns a tiny little bit better but I dont want to break the belt or wear out other components with a too taught belt
 
You need a belt tension measurement tool then. There are some details here somewhere in older threads, and the the tension specs. Also might try a can of belt spray to refresh it's grip.
 
Ecomike said:
You need a belt tension measurement tool then. There are some details here somewhere in older threads, and the the tension specs. Also might try a can of belt spray to refresh it's grip.
Click to expand...

Those were the perfect words lol I put belt tension specs and it came up with threads about the krikit, going to go see if they have one here in one of the parts stores around salem
 
Last edited:
Ecomike said:
I prefer MY "Calibrated thumb" :sunshine:LOL!

Most thumbs are not calibrated!
Click to expand...

Exactly how many times do you have to hit that thumb with a framing hammer before it is calibrated correctly? :doh:
 
joe_peters said:
Exactly how many times do you have to hit that thumb with a framing hammer before it is calibrated correctly? :doh:
Click to expand...


Zero, just takes a few squeals from some loose belts and a few bearings sent to early retirement to calibrate it!:)
 
So if a mod could move this to modification, would be cool.
Got the belt tensioned to 140 from the krikit, sadly though, it still squeals like a pig after its warmed up. After tightening it I took it for a spin, got it going and then came to a stop and tried turning the wheel and it just screeched, could just barely turn it compared to before but I'm taking it as a sign I need a new pump. Reason for asking to move to mod is because since I'm on the hunt for a power steering pump, I want to bring up the question about the wj pump, is it better? Or should I stick with a stock pump?
 
Sounds like a bad gear box or hose (internal damage blocking the flow) to me if the belt is tight and squealing, or something in the front end parts. But I am not the expert here on that.
 
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