Hey guys I know there a bunch of write ups on this issue and I have been reading them all last night and this morning but haven't found one for my issue exactly. I have a 1998 4.0 and I had to replace the steering box. In the meantime I needed to replace the PS hoses and reservoir box (plastic piece broke). Loosened the serpentine belt and took the PS pump off to replace the reservoir. got everything back together and now the pulley wont engage the PS pump. Did I not line something up when I put it back on so that the pulley can engage the PS pump? The serpentine belt is squealing looud but I know thats a tension issue and will work on that? thanks

 

not sure what your talking about......can you snap a few photos and post them?
How did you reinstall the pulley?
Are you telling us the pulleys all turn , but now you have no power assist?

 

How did you bleed the system?
Adjust the tension to relieve the belt squeal, could be part of the problem with power steering pump performance

 

I never took the pulley off. I loosened the bolts through the holes on the pulley and pulled the PS pump off through the mount. I may have messed up taking it off this way. All the pulleys spin but I get a loud squeal and get a little smoke coming from near the PS pump so I shut it off right away.

Willys55: yes, the pulleys do all turn but I have no power steering. So you're saying i should start by adjusting the belt tension to see if that will affect the PS pump engaging?

 

first thing I would do is take a close look at that, are you sure there is nothing interfering with that pump pulley turning? Remove the belt and back track what you did, be sure you have the correct belt routing, and verify that nothing is preventing any of the pulleys from turning freely without the belt on

 

Ok thanks. Yeah what i did was pull the pump by loosening the three bolts behind the pulley w/o taking the pulley off. I slid the PS pump and reservoir out and disconnected the hoses. Swapped out my reservoir and put the pump back in but I wasn't sure if I needed to make sure the pulley had a part that needed to be locked in w/ the PS pump in order for it to engage. Ill pull the pump again and make sure I have the belt routine correct and adjust the tension to see if that does the trick. Do I need to pull the pulley as well?

 

sorry, lost internet for awhile, no don't pull the pulley off...you don't even need to remove the pump again....just look to see if anything including a bolt could be interfering with everything turning freely

 

Alright ill give that a try and check to see if anything is keeping any of the pulleys from turning freely. Ill check the serpentine belt tension as well and then try to give it a start and see what I get. Thanks