My 87 XJ power steering box was giving my steering wheel a lot of play. So I replaced it last night.

At first the steering wheel won't budge at all even after adding fluid. So I start to talk with some friends who have some mechanic knowledge.
They all say it sound like I put pitman arm on wrong.

I was curious, so I decided to remove pitman and got in my jeep and turn it on and steer the wheel. It turn side to side just fine.
I decided to call it a night and do some research.

A lot of people tell me to put pitman back on and turn the engine on and steer the wheel to one side until it resist then the other side and back repeatedly until it steer easily.

I did just that. At first I thought I was done...

I walked around to front of my XJ, to my horror, the fluid was leaking from the place where pitman arm go.

What could this be? How do I fix it?

 

lol, The pitman arm wasn't installed while you were steering all the way one way and back the other?

Take that box back and tell them it leaks. Get another one.

 

It was then when I tried to steer, the steering wheel won't move.
So I took pitman arm off to see if it was causing issue... Stupid I know... But I only turn wheel side to side once and it did turn just fine.

This morning I put pitman arm on before I turn steering wheel. It went good and seems to work but the steering wheel turn a lot more than I expected. The wheels itself turn as well. So I thought it was just air in the hose and I got it fix.

But now the part with pitman arm shaft is leaking heavily.

 

Please don't tell us it was an Autozone "Duralast" box.

 

So this box is bad?! It is brand new!

 

Nope, got it from Napa...

 

If the box wasn't bad then it's bad now. I'd certainly take it back and tell them it's leaking. Are you sure it's leaking from the sector shaft seal or is it leaking from one of the lines that you hooked up?

 

What could I've done that would damaged it? It only leak if I steer but not any other time btw. So I have no idea if it was a pre-existing problem or if I did damaged it when I tried to steer or flush air from the hose.

Yes I'm sure it is leaking from sector shaft seal. I looked few times and it always come from the same place and I even got rag and wipe all over the box just for in case I miss a leak, only found it at sector shaft.

 

I'm not sure I understood earlier.

When you turned the wheel all the way you had the pitman arm hooked up, right?

When you bleed the air out you need to have the front tires off the ground.

(With all the steering properly installed) Steer lock to lock with the engine OFF about 10 times or until the bubbles stop.

Start the engine and do the same thing with the engine running. ~10 times.

Then put the front on the ground and do the same thing. ~10 times.

 

Geez... I think I see two mistakes I made...

-I didn't had wheels off ground (was told that I could do it without lifting it off ground)

-I started the engine and start to turn it side to side...

So could that have ruined the whole thing?

BTW yes pitman arm was hooked up. I had it off last night just to see if I can move the wheel but that's it.

 

Well if the front end is still together, do the above procedure and see what happens.

NAPA usually has pretty good stuff.

 

Even after I already turn the steering wheels with tires still on the ground and the machine on (which probably is what ruined the box?)?

I don't see how that would help as it probably is damaged but... I can try that just to see what happen and... May with some crazy miracle, it will fix the problem.

Yeah I know Napa isn't the best. I'm very new to jeep thing and have never fix a car until I got my Cherokee about 6 months ago.
It have a bit little things that need fix (rear main seal, oil gasket pan, and stuff like that) and steering box was in bad condition.
But overall, it is a great jeep, I LOVE it and hope to keep it as long as I live. So I want to learn as much as I could about it.

I do plan on eventually upgrade it with much better stuff. But as for now, I just want to get everything in good condition then worry about fancy stuff later.

 

If it's leaking now it's going to continue to leak. Pull it off and have them warranty it out. I went through 3 parts store steering boxes before I got a good one.

 

Oh man I just want to cry now... Can't imagine doing it three more time...

Oh well... Thanks for all help, really appreciate it... Will suck it up and pull it off and go back to store... May even change it in the store parking lot just in case the next one is bad too...

Time to go and try get in some sleep before I end up do something stupid...

Thanks!

 

So, did NorCal do something wrong, or is it possibly a defective box??