I haven't had a chance to diagnosis it yet, but what it the usual cause of reduced assist and lack of return to center with power steering on the XJ? It's not squealing from belt slippage or groaning from lack of fluid. Not leaking that I can see. This is just a quick question because I have commitments this morning and won't be back until later. Thanks for your time.

 

It could be a seal that is causing a pressure loss, or it could be that the pump is worn out.

There is also a little valve that regulates pressure that can get stuck, if you remove the high pressure hose on top of the pump, you can poke the valve with a needle and depress it to make sure it isn't stuck. The hole is pretty slim though, I luckily had a pick that was thin enough to fit in the hole

 

Thanks, I'll check that. Replacing a pressure valve is better than replacing a pump! This is a 2000 with 125K on it. This XJ may have low miles on it, but the lack of maintenance is astounding! I have a headlight harness to install and it's a good thing I bought it while the jeep was in the shop. On the way home, it was raining so I had the headlights on. Something smelled electrically hot so turned them off. The smell went away. Good catch, Dave! The steering is scarey! If you release the wheel in the middle of a turn, it continues to turn! I seems to have assist, but is a lot harder to turn than it should. Because it was pouring rain, I haven't even looked at the fluid yet. It stays cool, but the clutchfan seems to roar, although I haven't driven anything with a clutchfan in 6 years.

 

Check the axle u-joints if one is seized up it will cause hard steering and not want to return to center. You can jack the front tires up off of the ground and pop the tie rods off off the knuckles then see how hard it is to turn each front wheel back and forth by hand.

 

The guys at the shop were turning the front wheels by hand when they installed the new brake calipers.