Jeep Cherokee Forum

Jeep Grand Cherokee ZJ 1993-1998: How to Replace Power Steering Hose

A leaking or worn out power steering hose can make it more difficult to control your steering, which can be both frustrating and dangerous. Learn how to replace this hose below.

By Pizzaman711 - August 31, 2015

This article applies to the Jeep Grand Cherokee WJ (1993-1998).

Your power steering does exactly what the name implies: it applies power to your steering wheel to make it easier for you to turn, especially when you are sitting still. A leaky power steering hose is an easy and relatively cheap fix to do yourself. It's also something you're going to want to do as soon as possible; otherwise, you can end up burning out the power steering pump which is a much more expensive repair to perform.

Materials Needed

  • Liquid pump or turkey baster
  • New power steering fluid
  • 18mm open ended wrench (a crow's foot wrench is recommended)
  • Box cutter
  • Shop rags

Step 1 – Drain old fluid

When you undo the hose you are removing, fluid will be able to drain out. To minimize the amount of mess, you can use a pump or even something like a turkey baster to remove as much fluid as possible from the power steering reservoir.

Figure 1. Remove old fluid.

Step 2 – Remove power steering hose

  1. Line around both ends of the hose you're removing with shop rags to minimize the mess.
  2. Plan how to get the hose out; you may need to remove other hoses around it to be able to remove this one.
  3. Using the 18mm wrench, remove the flare nut on each end. Once it's broken free you should be able to unscrew it the rest of the way by hand. If you are removing the rubber hose, it's recommended cutting it in half with a box cutter close to the clamp, sliding the clamp on, and then sliding the remaining piece of hose off so you don't damage the mounting point.
  4. Inspect the ends of the hose you removed to make sure the o-ring is present on the ends that use a flare nut. If it's missing the o-ring, you'll want to double check that it's still not attached at the mounting point.
Figure 2. Using a crow's foot wrench to remove the flare nut.

Step 3 – Install new hose

  • For ends of the hose that use a flare nut, you'll want to get them started with about 3-4 threads on each end before fully tightening each side.
  • For ends of the hose that use a clamp, you'll want to get the flare nut end loosely tightened, then get the rubber hose and clamp positioned. Once the clamp is loosely tightened, fully tighten the flare nut end first before tightening the other end.

Step 4 – Refill power steering fluid

You can reuse the old power steering fluid if you wish, but it's recommended to just go ahead and spend the extra to put new fluid in since you've already got majority of the old fluid removed. There's a couple different types of fluid used in the Jeep's depending on options chosen, so you'll need to refer to your owner's manual or call a local dealership to find out what the correct type you should use is. The amount of fluid you'll need to put back in should be the same or a little bit more than what was removed.

Figure 3. Power steering fluid refilled.

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