I am thinking about grabbing a power steering pump from the pick-n-pull to throw in my XJ. Is there ANY way to test a pump in a vehicle with the motor off? Or is there anything I should look for to ensure I'm getting a good pump?

Second question:
I'm assuming my pump is going bad because the steering wheel is extremely difficult to turn when I'm not moving forward or backward. Only when I give 'er some gas and raise the RPMs and begin to move forward (or backward) does my steering become "normal" and can turn easily. This makes it a real PITA when trying to maneuver into tight spots, or parallel park, etc... To be clear, its not just difficult to turn do to the friction between my tires and concrete. I essentially have ZERO power steering when sitting still. I remember other vehicles I've owned 9and currently own) that are just as easy to turn sitting still as it is while driving.
Question is, has anyone else experienced this, and if so, did a new pump fix it?

 

Also, I have taken the lid off of the reservoir, jacked the front of the jeep up so the front wheels were just barely off of the ground, and turned the wheel stop to stop for a good 15-20 minutes, sitting there in the driveway with a large Jack-n-Coke, listening to talk radio, waiting to see if the system had any air in it. I cant confirm if any air bubbles came out because my wife didn't want to stand over the running engine for that long.... while I was sitting comfortably in the jeep with my beverage...

 

I replaced the pump in my 98 this past Monday because it was leaking. After the core the total price was $80.00. You will have to remove the pulley and install it on the new pump. I did that at the store (Advance) using their puller because I didn't want to make another trip. The staff was glad to help (bored, I guess). My problem was not the same as yours. Just saying that if you go through the trouble go new.

Is your pump making a cavitation noise (fluid starvation) when you begin your turn? It seems to me the pump is either good or it isn't. If it's properly serviced with fluid it should operate nearly silently with adequate output pressure stop-to-stop. I've read where people have flushed the system with new fluid and that restored it to normal operation. Might give that a go first.

 

That does sound like a good idea. I dont exactly know how old the fluid is, but I DO know the guy I bought it from was a retired Air Force Mechanic, and he took meticulous care of it. He even provided me with the brands of fluids he used in the Jeep when he would service it. So I only have to assume the fluid isn't that old, and he would only drive it when he came to Colorado during the summer to stay in the mountains and avoid the hot Florida summers... I believe he said he may have put a couple thousand miles on it a year. But, maybe the fluid could also go bad from not being used much? I know his son-in-law would take the jeep for a trip around the block once in a while...

But I'm also a cheap a$$ and would rather get a used one for $22 with a $5 core from the JY than spend $80 for a POS new one, or $150 for a good name brand. This also helps me justify to my wife the amount of money I'm putting into suspension parts and tires hahahaha...
Another bonus is getting to leave the house for a couple of hours while I go dig around at the JY looking for cool stuff and getting a PS pump, center console latch, oil pressure sensor, maybe a more powerful alternator, some fuel injectors, etc etc etc..... maybe get lucky and find an SYE on any of the jeeps out there....

 

Brake and power steering fluid is agroscopic so even though it might be visibly topped off there may be water in it sufficient to foul the normal pump operation. Change it out. Go get a turkey baster and draw out the old stuff from the reservoir. Add new fluid. Let it run and cycle the wheel. Then, draw it out again and refill with new fluid. That should be enough to get rid of most of the water but a few times couldn't hurt.

 

I just finished replacing the PS pump on my 98. My wife was driving it and said it made a screeching sound and then stalled the engine. She waited awhile and it started and she was able to drive home. I took the serpentine belt off and turned the PS pulley. Heard terrible bearing noises so knew the pump was bad. Bought a reman from NAPA (BBB brand). I replaced it and it blew the low pressure return hose off. I tightened everything and retried and it did the same thing. I bought a new low pressure return hose (it still had the original on the original PS pump) and put it on. This time it blew the rubber return line off where it connects to the hard line. At this point, I gave up and put on an original MOPAR one from the JY that I had laying around. Worked perfectly and I took the BBB back to NAPA. Someone must have put the impeller in backwards or something. So I would say, spin the pump and if you don't hear any horrible bearing noise, pull it and buy it.
I have a 98 and a 99 XJ. Whenever I go to the junk yard, I pull power door actuators (those get $$$) and any other good looking parts and keep them in a bin. The spares have come in handy for PS pump, tail light lenses, steering gear box, door actuators, wheel center caps.

 

I'm gonna start with the empty and refill a couple times and see how that goes. Since the jeep did do a lot of sitting for long periods of time before I bought it, it may have well gotten moisture accumulated in the reservoir somehow. And I do have a list of things I want from the JY to replace on my XJ... and it does sound like a decent idea to grab a couple extra parts while I'm there.

 

Remember, water seeks the lowest point in any hydraulic system so the sooner the better, and since it's been acting up it sounds like the water is beginning to have a damaging effect in your steering gear (the lowest point in the system).

 

Is there a drain plug in the steering gear (I cant go look right now)? If not, would I need a vacuum pump to get it out from there?

 

Probably all that's needed is to draw out the reservoir fluid, replace it, cycle the system and repeat. The pump will eventually cycle all the water into the reservoir where it can be removed with the baster I mentioned above. Otherwise, I've never had to "drain" the system and the videos I've watched for replacing the pump did not discuss/describe it.