steering prob.

cardudenc

cardudenc

jeep a holic, resident assho;e
Joined
Sep 21, 2007
Location
morganton
so the problem is my jeep keeps burning up pumps. the first 1 starting going out so I installed a replacement. after about 30 min on the trail it was done. swapped in another and the same thing. parts are a name brand steering box tapped for assist with the matching cyl. and the pumps have been from auto z, advance, and napa. will a stock pump carry the assist? any suggestions?
 
Do you have an inline cooler or a remote reservoir plumbed to the pump? Fluid returning to the pump through either or both could be restricted enough to dry the pump for a few seconds or longer. This happening repeatedly for a short time could quickly burn up a pump.

If you don't have a cooler or remote resi. Look in the top of the pump while its running and have someone cycle the steering lock to lock and watch the fluid level. If the level changes through the cycle you may want to add a cooler to up the volume of fluid in the system.

Is this a Saginaw style pump?


Sent from the MarsFab Off Road mobile response unit.
 
i had the same problem in my blazer. I had to add a tranny cooler in the return line of the power steering.
 
I forgot to ad I do have a cooler. And its the stock set up on a yj. So its a remote resi
Everytime I watched the flow n the resi before driving.
 
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How long is the hose from the cooler outlet to the inlet on the pump? The return tubing from the resi through the cooler all the way to the pump should be nice and straight with no sharp bends and flow downhill.

If you already have that done right then I'm not sure where to look next. It still sounds like a flow issue to me. When you put the new pumps on are you doing the pressure mod to get more flow like a lot of guys are doing? I've seen that cause pump failures.


You could try running a larger reservoir maybe?
 
try taking the pump apart to see what exactly is happening to them.
i replaced 3 in a row before a plumed in a spin-on hydraulic filter so you may want to try that and it will give you more fluid capacity.
another thing to check disconnect one end of your ram and make sure its pushing the right direction.
 
novacayne75 said:
another thing to check disconnect one end of your ram and make sure its pushing the right direction.
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Great point. They will steer right even if the lines are hooked up backwards but very badly overwork the pump. I learned this one the hard way! LOL
 
i will try to check that next. as far as the plumbing. the cooler is plumbed in the output line from the pump going back to the resi. last time i installed an inline filter that looks like a fuel filter. it is in between the cooler and resi. i have moved things around each pump. lol. the cooler was in ft of the rad. thought that might be creating heat. now tried 2 different locations under the hood.
 
I agree with MarsFab, make sure all the hoses are of sufficient diameter and use the biggest res you can fit. Put it as close to the pump as possible, always keeping the res discharge above the pump suction.
 
any updates? would putting the cooler between the box and pump (return line of course) make it more effective?
 
cardudenc said:
i will try to check that next. as far as the plumbing. the cooler is plumbed in the output line from the pump going back to the resi. last time i installed an inline filter that looks like a fuel filter. it is in between the cooler and resi. i have moved things around each pump. lol. the cooler was in ft of the rad. thought that might be creating heat. now tried 2 different locations under the hood.
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Ok I missed this reply for some reason but I believe this is your problem.

From your pump you should have an uninterrupted high pressure line coming out the back that goes down to the steering box.

Coming back out the top of the steering box is another line(usually low pressure with a hose clamp holding it) that line should go up to the reservoir. This line is where you add the filter and cooler.

Next is the low pressure line from the resi to the pump. I believe this is where you have the cooler and filter now. This line needs to have nothing in it at all. It feeds fluid to the pump. Gravity is all that gets the fluid from the resi to pump. If there are any obstructions or uphill angles in this line you will burn up pumps. Mount the resi above the pump and get the cooler and filter out of that line and I think you'll be good as new.


Sent from the MarsFab Off Road mobile response unit.
 
i guess i wrote that wrong. the cooler is plumbed in the low pressure line leaving the box going back to the resi. i messed up and wrote pump instead of box. let me try again i will start at the resi. stock yj resi with a larger line feeding to the pump, then a high pressure line from pump to box. box is tapped with 2 lines going to the ram, and a low pressure line coming out of the box feeding the cooler then filter going back into the resi. im hoping the cheap azz filter from auto z is what took out the 2nd pump. and the lack of patience and thourgh cleaning the 3rd. I have the new pump and waiting for a filter from surplus center like chris uses. hopefully get the whole system flushed well and try again
 
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What type of cooler do you run? Maybe it's a little too restrictive? I'm kinda at a loss now. The only other thing I could suggest would be to eliminate the cooler and filter and see what happens. Obviously that's not ideal but it may help track down the culprit.

I'm not questioning your knowledge with this but what's happening to the pump to tell you it's bad. Have you ever adjusted the tensioner bolt on the steering box? Could it be set too tight and over working the pump?
If either of those things aren't the problem, I think it may be time to upgrade to a PSC or Howe high flow pump because the stock ones just aren't flowing enough
 
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