Pokey_87

Hi All,
The issue I'm having is a whine and groan form the Power Steering system in my 1987 renix era XJ.

Back story
A month ago the power steering pump was making noise. The fluid was low so I topped it off. Over a week, the car was still making noise but I was in 4WD in the snow, so I wasn't really hearing much of a difference. I checked the PS reservoir and sure enough it was low again. I suspected the old pressure lines were the culprit so I replaced both. I used a syphon to remove the power steering fluid, put in Lucas PS until it came out the return line. (I didn't bleed the system with the tires off the ground going lock-to-lock as I did not have a jack.) Noise kept coming from the power steering, and it would need a top off every 5 days or so to refill from halfway.

Now
The jeep is still noisy. I'm topping off the PS every morning, and this helps with the noise for about 15 minutes of driving.
I decided before making my next move to do the job right, and finish bleeding the system and add new PS fluid. I jacked up the car, put it on stands, took the return-line off the reservoir (plugged the elbow on the reservoir and put the return line into a bottle), and begin turning the wheel lock-to-lock while being sure not to let the reservoir get below halfway. Did this for about 60-80 lock-to-locks with the engine off making sure that there was no air. I put the return back on and did it another 20 times to ensure no air. Decided to check my work and turn the engine on with the cap off: after 5 seconds the PS fluid was foaming and nearly foamed over, but I shut it off.

Where is the air coming from that it would foam in a matter of seconds? How can I track it down? Should i consider that the pump (or gasket) is toast at this point, and does anybody have a suggestion for a good one?

Thanks in advance for your comments

lawsoncl

If you end up replacing the pump, avoid Cardone remanufactured. One I got is noisy as hell when it's cold.

robsjeep

Follow the correct bleeding procedure.

good luck,

Pokey_87

Thanks for the replies. Any idea who sells a pump that's not Cardone? I read that Cardone reman' pumps go under other names at various sellers. Don't want to buy one of those accidentally.

I believe that the system was bled with the proper procedure (explained in the second part). As bubbles did show up in the reservoir while doing the process, it seemed as though the system was bled. Upon turning the ignition, it seems as though a ton of air was introduced--likely sucked in. Please advise if you have suggestions.

lawsoncl

I suspect you're sucking in air where the reservoir attaches to the pump. That might also explain where your fluid is going.

Pokey_87

that’s my hunch as well. Is there a good kit for replacing the gasket or o ring? Or is it better to replace the pump (does it come with o ring?)

lawsoncl

The a/c delco kit with all the o-rings is $12. I assume it comes with a new reservoir seal? A new crown brand reservoir was $22.
https://www.partsgeek.com/53c1vr9-je...-seal-kit.html

Pokey_87

Follow up:

I replaced the O ring between the pump and the reservoir with a tighter fitting Viton one: and applied a thin film of RTV.

The fit seemed tight. So, I added new fluid, bled the system with the wheels off the ground, etc. Still there were little bubbles in the fluid after turning lock to lock near 100 times. I started the engine, and as expected fluid shot-up and foamed.

I decided to replace the pump at this point. I decided to go for a BBB Endurance reman with the reservoir. Before swapping the pump, I switched the BBB O-ring for my tighter fitting/thicker O ring. As for replacing the pump, the operation is very simple. I can't suggest enough pulling the pulley while its bolted to the Jeep. With the automatic fan out there is plenty of room, and you don't need a vice or to hold it with your feet.

So I swapped out the old pump for the reman Endurance. I added a magnetic filter on the return line to remove any junk in the system (1987, 225,000miles).
With brand new PS fluid, turning the steering wheel lock to lock a big burp would come out the power steering reservoir each time--not just little bubbles. The system was breathing in fresh air from some large hole. I thought at first that everything I read about the reman pumps was true: junk out the box. After again, near a 100 times lock-to-lock, and getting this burp each time, I decided to turn on the engine.

Fluid sprayed from the hard line of the high pressure hose where it makes its bend before entering into the pump. I turned off the car, and looking at the line, sure enough there was visible hairline crack. I had the old high pressure hose, so I swapped it in, and the jeep is running great 600 miles later. Very smooth turning and no noises.

If I'd had a helper, I'm sure they would've spotted the leak coming from the hose. I couldn't see it until it had gotten critical and I'd wasted a lot of time. My guess is that the original pump was leaking slowly from the seals or perhaps simply from the O-ring. When I replaced the old hoses with a new cracked one, the fluid leaked even faster. The old hoses weren't the problem apparently. And the fact the new one had a big crack meant the system was leaking from two locations making it that much more difficult to locate. Have a helper. The 'action' happens when you turn on the engine, and with the hood up its nearly impossible to see where the fluid is leaking...until you've swapped a few parts and bled the system 5 or 6 times and a tiny crack in a hose turns into a geyser that you can easily identify (as it shoots out sideways rather than towards the ground or up from the reservoir). Unfortunately, I can't confirm where the original leak originated.