kscherokeegirl

I have had a ton of issues going on with my 1993 Jeep Grand Wagoneer this week. It got super cold and I have had financial issues so I've been letting my gas tank run down extremely low the past few months. Well either my on board system was wrong and I ran it out of fuel or the 45 miles it said I still had was bad fluid or water in my gas tank or lines & froze up. But at same time I found no spark at the ignition coil so changed that, distributor & rotor changed out. Got spark plugs but before I could change them due to some cutting out while its idling I had a new issue come up.

When I started it this morning to warm it up for work there was an odd noise. Not a constant noise but every 20 to 30 seconds and neither my roommate or I recognize the noise. (We both work for an auto parts company & are rather familiar with troubleshooting & repairs.) So I turned it off went to work & returned to look into the issue this evening. Theres fluid sprayed all over under the hood & under my engine area and a large puddle of oily looking brown liquid under my jeep. I checked my oil level and its just below the full line. Steering fluid looks low when you look in the hole and when I wiped the dip stick and rechecked for level there was no liquid reading on the dip stick.

So I assume its power steering fluid but when I had it running the wheel turns just fine. My only experience with power steering issues was a broken belt and you had to have tough arms to steer when the belt broke. The liquid started a steady flow again after I had started my jeep to check if the wheel was hard to turn and its draining from somewhere very close to my serpentine belt and so I assume the fan was blowing the liquid everywhere and why it looks like someone exploded oil everywhere under the hood and vehicle.

What are your thoughts & where do I begin?

highmileage

A low or bad power steering pump sounds like a garbage disposal w/o anything to dispose of. Check the lines going to the steering box.
Take a look at your tranny lines going into or around your radiator, could be it.
A bad CPS will have a crank no spark.

dave1123

The brown oily fluid sounds like nasty old transmission fluid. You may have a burst trans cooling line at the radiator. That probably isn't pressurized when it's in park but will be in any other position. Transmission fluid and power steering fluid appear very similar. Your 93 calls for Merc/Dex III in the transmission, I believe. If it is trans fluid, I would take this opportunity to change it and the filter.

Keith333

Sorry for your troubles.

Some random thoughts on power steering issues I can speak to... 1) I had an old Ford Ranger that I couldn't keep a recommended fluid level in. I have no idea where it went, but it always worked just fine so I ultimately just left it alone. It whined a little at times but it never failed me... 2) My mom has a 97 Dodge Stratus that had a leaking power steering line that Dodge had a recall on due to fires (we found out a couple of years ago when hers started leaking). The lines and reservoir are in a precariously dangerous location (way to go Dodge) which, when leaking, could easily result in a fire.

So regarding the potential power steering issue, if it's still working fine -- and not leaking in a potentially dangerous location -- you may be fine.

My random 2 cents.