I just bought a 1997 Cherokee Sport. (First Jeep ever owned)
I have a leak in the power steering somewhere, just cannot find it.
It only happens if I turn the wheels until they stop (Left or right turn Does Not Matter) then it leaks onto the manifold and smokes until it burns it off.
It does not do it unless you crank it all the way to the left or right, but I cannot find where it is coming from. The pump does not make any noise or anything like that, so I'm wondering if I start with changing the hoses and work towards the pump or does it sound like the pump?

Can I just pick up new hoses at check Auto or AutoZone or are they a dealer only part?

Thank you

 

Welcome,
To save time and money, I would clean the pump/manifold area with dishsoap or degreaser, let dry and reenact the leaking situation. This will give you a good "clean" look at the leaking area. Parts can be found at any good parts store.

Happy Jeeping!

 

THe high pressure line can leak. There is also O-rings on it if they have went bad then they will leak also. You can purchase new hoses at Autozone. But I do recommend cleaning and observing more to verify. Once you change the hose or what not then you get the fun of bleeding all the air out of the system.... Ha ha that is fun.

 

Thank you for the tip, I will clean it tomorrow morning and see if I can find the leak.

 

Yea, got the same problem.. Replaced the box, put new lines on it, and still slings shat all over, and smmokes.. Also the pump's making a nasty sqeak. Totally fed up with it. cleaned it like 5 times and still can't find the leak.. but, finally fixed the death wobble again. Happens about once a year.. haha

 

My 93 had a leak as well and I could only find it when I had someone else turn the wheels and saw it squirting out, otherwise there wasnt a sign that it was leaking except the smoke of it burning off when I turn my wheels. After I saw where it was coming from I was confused how I couldnt find it before.

 

I degreased it and still cannot find the leak.
My does not make any noises.
We are going to try and find the leak again this weekend and hopefully find the leak. It's driving me crazy and may have to switch from beer to Jack Daniels while working on the Cherokee to find the leak.

warpig602 where was your leak coming from?

 

Found the problem.
It was a pin size hole in the high pressure line.
Replaced it, no more leaks from the power steering.

Went through and changed all fluids and found two other leaks one from the transfer case and one from the transmission cooler line.

One down two more to go.

Thank you for the troubleshooting tips.

 

I have the same problem, an impressive white plume of smoke rises out of my hood vent when I hang a U-turn, looks really cool but I'm changing the high pressure hose this weekend.