This is the 4th or 5 time?
It did not work... again.
Walked outside this morning to see drips on the clean cardboard that I had put under it. Probably 1/2 a tablespoon worth.
I finished up yesterday, wiped everything down, drove to town and back. Steering felt good but the pump was whining a little louder than normal.
I put the cardboard under it and that was it.

 

Dang. I wonder what's going on.. Did the O-ring you used match the measurements needed? If so, and its still not sealing, maybe use a different style sealing ring of similar measurements. Maybe one of them square orings.. idk man, that's got to be frustrating. Is it possible that something has changed its dimensions? Like swelled from heat or something?

 

At this point I'm staring to believe that just about ANYTHING is possible including sabotage by aliens! This time, the 0-ring was supplied by PSC and is the same one they originally supplied when I bought the pump. That one did fine for years. I don't think it's the o-ring. I don't know if the reservoir has a leak where the shell is bonded together, if the outlet has changed size, if the pump is back pressuring, etc.

I don't think the Durango steering box has any issues as the steering is smooth and very easy. At this point, I'm so frustrated with removing and installing that whining PSC pump and cleaning up PS fluid everywhere that I'm honestly thinking of parts shotgunning it. Just replace the pump, reservoir, and both lines.

Oddly, there are more choices available now than I remember being available when I upgraded the steering box and replaced the failing pumps year ago. I'm starting to wonder if maybe I just got a bad set of brand new pumps from PSC??? The first one whined VERY loudly. The replacement still whined, but much more quietly.

I definitely do NOT want to play pump roulette like last time with 3 bad re-manufactured pumps in a row. Cardone makes new pumps with reservoirs attached. A cheaper one made of aluminum, and a more expensive one made from cast iron. I think I prefer cast iron. O'Reilly has it for $270 (Part #:96-38771S). Not familiar with Cardone's reputation though.

A new PSC pump with reservoir attached looks like it will cost $315 plus S+H.

I'm running the Durango steering gear upgrade on 33" BFG KM3 tires.

 

I can't speak to quality of Cardone with regards to power steering components. But I have used their brake calipers and had great results FWIW.

Its interesting the PSC pumps wine like that. Their parts are supposed to be really good quality. Do you think it has anything to do with the Durango steering box maybe not being a perfect match for the PSC pump? Or have other ran the same setup successfully?

After all you've been through, I would be apt to just copy cat a successful parts combo from another members rig. Parts are expensive these days but your TIME is priceless.

I hope you can get a final resolution soon.

 

Finally sprung for a pulley removal and installation tool set. Been removing the pump the hard way. The pulley on the PSC pump is purposefully smaller than the OEM pulley, and getting the mounting bolts in and out are a monumental PITA.
going to pull it again and swap the reservoir, cap, and o-ring.
This set up should be ok, was on the phone with PSC describing everything when I bought the pump. It was the one they recommended.
I don't have the tool recommended in the tech manual to measure the various pressures, and a cheap version of it is over $200. Checked with a local garage, described everything and asked if they had that tool and would measure all the pressures for a fee. Dude said he didn't have anything like that but I could bring the Jeep to them, pay $140, and they'd see what they could do.
Called Landers Jeep (who used to sponsor local Jeep clubs) and asked how much to diagnose the issue. Chick in the service department got real snotty when she found out it's a 2001. She decisively informed me "we don't touch anything over 10 years old". Dunno when they started that.
If this doesn't work, it's parts shotgun time. If that's even possible anymore.

 

Got everything set up
Drained the reservoir, removed the belt, pulled the air cleaner box, removed the electric fan, removed the pulley, removed the fluid lines, removed the pump.
Installed new reservoir with new o-ring.
Put it all back together and reconnected everything.
Filled reservoir.
Noticed fluid leaking between reservoir and pump.
Crud.
Still have to move Jeep so started it up and fluid started blowing out of the reservoir from under the cap.
Parts shotgun time

 

Wow. That blows. It's enough to make someone wonder what's going on in between that reservoir and pump..

 

I really don't know a lot about power steering systems other than the very basics. Is is possible that your reservoir is becoming pressurized? What keeps the return flow from building pressure in the reservoir? Is the cap vented?

 

It appears that is exactly what is happening. The cap is vented but it still overpowers the seal. I think something is causing the pump to back-pressure into the reservoir.
ordered a new pump and high pressure hose today

 

I was doing some reading on power steering systems. And I came across an interesting excerpt.... "Over-pressurization typically occurs when the steering wheel is turned to the very end of its travel (at full "lock"), or when the steering box's flow capacity is exceeded. In these situations, the pressure builds up in the high-pressure line. Instead of pushing fluid back through the pump inlet, the pressure relief valve opens and reroutes the excess fluid. This process is why you may hear a groaning or whining sound when holding the steering wheel at full lock; it's the sound of the fluid being forced through the pressure relief valve"

Makes me wonder about the pumps relief valve vs the steering box you are using.. If the relief valve wasn't relieving the pressure correctly, could it possibly push oil back though the pump inlet - even just momentarily? I'm skeptical of this, I suppose it may be possible depending on the style of pump..?

In researching what could make a power steering reservoir overflow I came across this... "Air can get into the power steering system due to a low fluid level or a tiny leak in a hose or a faulty O-ring on the suction side of the pump. The power steering pump circulates the fluid at high pressure, and when air is introduced, it gets churned into a foam. This foamy fluid takes up more space and can cause the pressure to increase, pushing the fluid out of the reservoir cap."

And this..."If the reservoir is filled above the "full" or "max" line, especially when the engine is cold, the fluid has no room to expand once it heats up during operation. This thermal expansion can cause the fluid to overflow."

 

I apologize for not having updated this thread. Allot has happened in my life.

The issue is... RESOLVED!

In my last post I stated I was ordering:

-New PSC power steering pump with original size pulley and reservoir already installed.
-New lines, both high and low pressure sides.

I installed those and... it leaked from the o-ring area between the pump and reservoir and from under the cap when I started it and revved the engine a little. I shut it off and after some choice words it occurred to me that the last component in the puzzle that we had not replaced was the steering box. I hadn't suspected the gearbox because the steering was smooth and the arm moved easily when I was installing it originally. Time to finish wiping the slate clean. Ordered a new (not rebuilt) Durango steering box.

The pump and lines were around $300. The gearbox... $600. Ouch.

Pulled the Durango box I put in years ago and put the new one in.

Cleaned EVERYTHING.

No leaks. Been driving it for a few months now and still, no leaks. Not a drop. No whining from the pump, even under load (steering while stopped).

The difference is now steering is much harder at idle because the larger, original size pulley is on the pump (meaning the pump is turning slower). Honestly, I don't feel like messing with replacing that pulley and possibly creating too much pressure and restarting this problem. I just had to get used what felt like manual steering at low revs or when stopped. No problem. I still have the other PSC pump as it may not be bad. Still have the PSC smaller pulley. Still have the steering gear box too.

Thanks to everyone who has chimed in with suggestions and to everyone who was rooting for us lol

 

Learnt a lot from reading through