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Mudderoy
01-17-2017, 02:53 AM
My wife and I went to the ER Sunday, and after stopping by the pharmacy to drop off my prescriptions I heard kind of a squeaking noise. Thought it would be a wet belt, or maybe a idler pulley going out. Pretty sure I replaced that idler pulley maybe a couple of years ago.

We got home and I wasn't in any shape to look into it. About 2 hours later my wife took the TJ back over to the pharmacy to pick up the prescriptions. Didn't make it. She had to turn around and come back.

Lots of reddish fluid coming down over the front diff. Red fluid, on a standard? I popped the hood.

There was a little oil on the driver's fender, a lot of oil on the inside of the hood.

It was the power steering unit that was leaking.

I didn't fill up the empty reservoir and run the engine to see where it was coming out, but I've been worrying about it. I thought one of you may have had this issue in the past and could tell me what the issue was.

Also does it ruin the power steering unit to drive it without fluid?

I think it's a bad hose, but never had to replace a hose or power steering unit before.

Oh the ER thing isn't anything super serious. Kidney stone, lots of pain. I don't think I've been to the ER since I was 18, stitches, and never had a kidney stone before. Yeah for me.

abebehrmann
01-17-2017, 09:23 AM
My wife and I went to the ER Sunday, and after stopping by the pharmacy to drop off my prescriptions I heard kind of a squeaking noise. Thought it would be a wet belt, or maybe a idler pulley going out. Pretty sure I replaced that idler pulley maybe a couple of years ago.

We got home and I wasn't in any shape to look into it. About 2 hours later my wife took the TJ back over to the pharmacy to pick up the prescriptions. Didn't make it. She had to turn around and come back.

Lots of reddish fluid coming down over the front diff. Red fluid, on a standard? I popped the hood.

There was a little oil on the driver's fender, a lot of oil on the inside of the hood.

It was the power steering unit that was leaking.

I didn't fill up the empty reservoir and run the engine to see where it was coming out, but I've been worrying about it. I thought one of you may have had this issue in the past and could tell me what the issue was.

Also does it ruin the power steering unit to drive it without fluid?

I think it's a bad hose, but never had to replace a hose or power steering unit before.

Oh the ER thing isn't anything super serious. Kidney stone, lots of pain. I don't think I've been to the ER since I was 18, stitches, and never had a kidney stone before. Yeah for me.

The high pressure power steering line on my XJ sprung a leak not long after I bought it. It was a fairly easy fix. Would have been a lot easier if I had a set of stubby open-ended wrenches at the time.

If it were me, I'd fill it up and have your wife turn the Jeep on and turn it from lock to lock so you can see where the leak's coming from. Get that fixed and see if the power steering pump quiets down after all the bubbles are out of it.

Hope you feel better soon, kidney stones sound terrible.

4.3LXJ
01-17-2017, 11:01 AM
To answer one question, yes you can ruin the pump if you run it dry and in a few minutes it will seize up. There are two possibilities. As Abe mentioned you might have sprung a leak in the high pressure hose. Or, you could have a bad O ring on either hose fitting

Charlie Foxtrot
01-17-2017, 07:43 PM
4.3xj x2 -don't run it dry.

There are two hoses -
1)high pressure hose (flow is from pump to steering gearbox)
2)return (or low pressure) hose (flow is from steering gear box to pump)

There are four possible points of leakage in the gearbox -
1) pitman shaft seal (most probable)
2) steering shaft seal
3) top cover
4) end cap

Most parts stores will have the high pressure hose for under $25. Its simple to change out. The return hose is just a length of oil resistant hose (you can use gas line in a pinch) that is held on with hose clamps. Gearbox leaks can be fixed or you can swap out the SGB with a rebuilt unit. The last one I did on a jeep ran $50 plus $50 core. (Rock Auto w/monthly discount)

The most important thing to do after repair is to flush the system. Jack the front end up & put it on jack stands. Take and plug/cap the return port on the pump, & point the return hose into a gallon jug (empty). Fill the reservoir, & with a helper, turn on the engine. Keep adding fluid while having the helper gently steer back & forth. Shut off the engine as you start to run low on fluid. Reinstall the return line. Fill the reservoir, install the cap, and wash down the engine bay. Clean up the floor also. I use Dex 3 for PS fluid. It's cheap, and works just fine in older jeeps power steering (the pump is GM just like Dex 3). DON"T use Dex 3 in MOPAR transmissions, use ATF +4. ATF +4 works in the power steering but I can get a gallon of generic Dex 3 for the cost of a quart of +4.

Hose R&R is typically around a half hour to an hour labor, the gearbox can take a couple hours if the Pitman arm wants to fight you. The flush & clean up takes longer than the repair in most cases. Good luck, get healthy and don't fear the repair - it's pretty basic.

BTW I have seen a pump or two leak in the past (over 45 years of wrenching) but it's not too common. Even the pump R&R is pretty easy & basic. Don't worry tho, it's usually the hose. If one fails, replace the other, cause it's the same age, and the rubber deteriorates.

Mudderoy
01-22-2017, 07:36 PM
Felt well enough to try putting fluid in it and have the wife start it up. Sprays like mad from behind the pulley.

4.3LXJ
01-22-2017, 08:03 PM
You might have lost the seal. Another possibility is the O ring on the reservoir. But my money is on the seal

Mudderoy
01-22-2017, 08:17 PM
The O ring on the reservoir crossed my mind after ordering the pump 😬

Sent from my KFGIWI using Tapatalk

Charlie Foxtrot
01-23-2017, 07:11 PM
Good to see that you are feeling better.

Mudderoy
01-25-2017, 12:15 AM
Parts will be in tomorrow. Hopefully it'll be a quick fix tomorrow afternoon. Oh I'm assuming the parts will come during the day and not near 8pm.

Got the pulley remove/install kit, a rebuilt power steering pump, and a new pulley.

Mudderoy
01-28-2017, 08:31 PM
Felt well enough today to replace the pump. Other than getting the new pulley on it was a pretty easy job. The room you have in the TJ's engine bay is a big help.

Got it in, started up the engine, moved the wheels back and forth, all good.

Got cleaned up for a test drive, started it up and power steering fluid goes everywhere. Leaking from center shaft....

4.3LXJ
01-28-2017, 11:57 PM
That is not good

Mudderoy
01-29-2017, 05:48 PM
Done! Again. This time it made it through a test drive.

4.3LXJ
01-29-2017, 08:16 PM
:congrats:

Mudderoy
01-30-2017, 10:21 AM
https://youtu.be/68UIEjvxXMc