sturoc

Halfway thru a 2 hr drive I stop to get gas and see some smoke coming out of the hood. Popped the hood and see some type of fluid leak all over. Geez ! and I got another hour drive time to go !
Appears to be PS pump leaking somewhere.Put some fluid in it and forged ahead.
SO I figured would be good to go to at least get home and deal with it next day trying to avoid a tow charge etc. Then I hit a detour adding 10 backroad miles to an already stressful ride.
Next day start her up and see fluid streaming out of the pump.The ease of steering was gone. Hoses and connections look good .
After much struggle (my hands are not that small) got the pump pulled out, took it to O'Reillys figured I''l just pull the old pulley off there cause i have a long drive to town and back.
So the counter guys says yeah we can do that here he proceeds to set up the puller and then breaks the pulley using a shoddy looking puller and an impact gun I was like whoa boy you just broke my pulley !
" ah sorry it was pretty tight"
I took my pump and left going to Autozone now.

My question:
Would there be any damage to steering box from not having fluid in it for 60 minutes?
Roads were fairly straight with maybe 8 turns total.
The bracket that holds the pump to the water pump flange ( the one that also holds the adjuster bolt mechanism ) can i remove it from that flange in order to mount it on the PS pump prior to installing ?
It would seem to make the install a little easier.

btw my hi press hose looks great. I am replacing the return hose though and prob the serp belt since who knows how much friction it saw from a dry, failing pump.

Lowrange2

What year is your Jeep?

Your steering box will be fine.

I always remove the entire assembly. (That includes removing the bracket that you're talking about)

You did remove the stock air box, right? That makes the job SO much easier.

30 minutes replace time tops with the air box out of the way. (Not counting pulling the pulley.)

Also, use a "Power steering pump pulley puller". Not some crappy 3 jaw puller.

If you make a fuss at O'Reilly's they WILL pay for your pulley... If they want to be difficult about it ask for the general managers phone number. They have to give it to you. I worked for O'Reilly's for a long time and that's a standing policy. If something is obviously their fault then they have to pay for it.

sturoc

It's a 92 XJ Sport.

Since it has now been a day after being to o'reillys, i probably won't bother in making a fuss , I'm over it and won't get to that one again. There's another one in a different town opposite direction -same distance, if I need to deal with them again.

Good to know that the steering box will be fine and that plate can be pre-installed onto the pump.
Just gotta a lower price from Autozone by $13. So that helps.

What holds the Air filter box in place, are they accessed thru the wheel well ? I left mine in. What was really in the way were the two black lines that connect to the injection system rail-are they fuel supply ?
The connector's casings feel just a touch loose : normal ?

thanks for your quik reply.

sturoc

Got it all in with help from Autozone in putting a new pulley on in the store, only takes a couple minutes to do.
A few tips:
If you have the aux elect cooling fan take that out it will give ya more room to work in Put a piece of cardboard alongside the exposed radiator to prevent any nicks, etc to it.
Definitely remove the air filter box. I left my in and only pulled the top off - It made for a tight squeeze in getting to the back bottom bolt. The two black injector lines (fuel ?) also made it awkward to place that bolt as well.