Jim Oxley

Hello, first time posting.
I have a 97 Grand Cherokee 6 cyl. 4.0. Last night I took a left turn and my Jeep decided to Join Nascar (all it wanted to do was keep turning left) checked PS reservoir this morning and topped it off to full. With the car running and trying to turn the steering wheel, the fluids are being push up and out of the reservoir through the cap. My problem is, my steering wheel won't turn left or right. I am looking for ideas or opinions on what the problem is and thoughts on how to resolve this problem.

Kind regards,
Jim

wingless

Welcome to the forum.

First off, the power steering reservoir is not topped off. It is filled to the cold or warm level on the dipstick.

Unless it fails it should never need fluid.

The steering has seized.

The failure analysis may require partial disassembly. I would suggest disconnection of the left tie rod end from the Pittman arm, either from splitting that joint, or from unscrewing the adjusting sleeve.

Once the Pittman arm is detached, then that will permit identification of the steering gear or the other parts being at fault.

dave1123

"Unless it fails it should never need fluid."

This one I don't agree with. I bought my WJ with 125K miles on it and the power steering fluid was black! I decided to flush it out with new fluid and went to the dealer to get whatever fluid it was supposed to be. The parts manager told me someone probably used the wrong fluid, but said the original fluid had been superseded, however he still had 4 quarts of the original in stock. I grabbed it and by suctioning the reservoir out and refilling it with new fluid several times until it got clear, I used 3 of the 4 quarts. It now has 257K on the same pump with no problems. Not even a whine.

The point of this is it needs to be changed occasionally.

I believe your problem is failure of the power assist valve inside the steering box. NASCAR doesn't want it because they can't go into the pits with it! Disconnect the hoses and see if you can steer it without the engine running. If you can't, the steering box needs replacing.

wingless

My statement about the level not needing fluid is correct. I did not expand that to also include the periodic service of draining and refilling.

No argument from me on performing appropriate maintenance.