In getting to gather a 1990 Jeep Cherokee, with 260000 miles, and most accessories have been replaced. Except for the power steering pumpperiod new houses have been put on and it has fluid. Rand it a few miles the other day for the first time. And it's been sitting for a week and there's a small drip area. it looks to be coming out of the back side of the power steering and it is not the high pressure or low pressure hoses. I'm not quite certain if there's something that failed on the back side Or spit out, but I don't have any overfill. I included a few pictures the best I can. i'm thinking if it's a seal or something , then i'm just gonna replace the power steering pump.I already replaced all the hoses and gearbox already. You will see the drips come off the pumpthen drippart way down onto the low pressure line and that drips down onto the Steering arm. Pictures are from the top side and bottom side. I just wanted your thoughts. Thank you

 

best idea is clean up suspect area really well (highest point)

then run engine for less than 1 minute, check again, continue on with this process

could be a cracked hose, could be anything

suspect area should be white cloth clean

 

Could be the o-ring between the tank and the pump too. It you replace it, avoid cardone remanf which is junk.

 

It will be impossible to clean that good. Sat with hood open for 22 years.
I know it is not a hose. I know it is coming from back side and middle, dripping below the junction between the resivor and pump.
If money is no too much of an issue, is it better to rebuild using oring kits or just replace?

 

If your pump still works great and you dont have any power steering issues, I dont see any reason why new o-rings wouldn't fix your issue. There's a lot of parts that just need new o-rings to repair it, so it should be ok.

My PS pump needs replaced, not because of leaks, but its worn out and I dont get that "assist" in steering at low RPM's a lot of times.

 

One last question.
is it difficult to do the o rings, the rebuild kit?
I have you tube...lol.
thanks

 

You can buy a new PS pump with, or without the reservoir. So I have to guess it's not a difficult task to take them apart and put them together. But I've never tried yet.

 

You can buy a new PS pump with, or without the reservoir. So I have to guess it's not a difficult task to take them apart and put them together. But I've never tried yet.

 

It is fairly tricky if you have not done one before, see the FSM for full procedure

You need a way to measure the inch pound torque to measure and set pre-load on the bearings, whether using the old ones or new

any failure to get this correct, it will need more attention very soon, depends how much mechanical knack you have

I would most certainly establish the source of the leak before undertaking a rebuild

even a cursory clean, then dust it with flour, you will find an atf leak in seconds

On my spare '96, I recently noticed ATF was leaking out of a corroded metal crimp on the rubber line, it has a pinhole, not what I expected

If yours sat outside, I would not discount such an easy fix

 

Sounds like I will purchase a complete unit when I do mine....
Ain't nobody got time fer dat. I'll pay the couple extra bucks for the reservoir to come attached.

 

AWG was describing rebuilding the pump, versus just attaching the reservoir. Once the pump is out, it's a single o-ring and two metal clips that hold the reservoir onto the pump. I don't think you have enough room to get the clips off with the pump installed. Scroll up to about 4:30 to see how to remove it.

If you're replacing the pump, the cost difference to get it with the reservoir wasn't around $10 as I recall. Avoid Cardone remanf, btw. Mine is screaming loud on cold mornings for the first few minutes.

 

The pumps themselves are usually quite easy to rebuild, as they basically only have O-rings to replace

On the extremely rare occasions I have taken them apart, they only had 2 gears and bushes, so unless it was a basic leak, the unit would be stuffed anyway

Never had a failed steering pump itself, although I bet they get very hot if all the fluid runs out

 

I had a leak coming from the reservoir to the pump that I tried replacing just the oring to fix with no luck so I ended up ordering a new reservoir and installing it, not too difficult once you get the pump off. I've never seen anyone else mention it but I've never been able to remove the pump without removing the aux fan on my 96. I also tried rebuilding the pump on my 84 Dodge and that did not go well so I got a new one for around $100.

 

I think I might go with a new pump and forgo the hassle of tear down.
thanks

 

There are not many places a power steering pump leaks...both hoses are a foot long...ish...and the pump. get someone to watch while you turn the wheel stop to stop...that should find it pretty easily