Screwed up my power steering pump?

[vaksanov]

Hey guys, to begin my story, my power steering was leaking.

So after searching this forum I found that a busted O-ring might cause the pressure hose to leak. I went to the dealer and got me 2 new O-rings in the hope that I wouldn't have to buy a new hose.

Well I took the serpentine belt off and started unscrewing the hose to check the O-ring. When I started unscrewing it, the metal nut was moving with the hose itself and needless to say it busted the metal part that holds the bolt.

Off to the store I went to buy a new hose.

Once I unscrewed the old hose, a plastic piece that was piston shaped with a little filter on one side fell out. I didn't think much of it so i jammed it all the way back in there.

Now when I try to screw in my new hose it just sinks all the way in there like the thread in the pump is way bigger than what the hose end is.

That is not it, when I was looking to see if anything else fell out I found a spring. So I am pretty sure that spring goes on the piston that fell out and I put piston with the wide portion down. And now I cannot take it out. :favorites68:

Am I missing a part? Why would my new hose sink in and not catch a thread?
And the biggest question is how do I take that plastic piston out and put a spring on it and put it back? Can I connect everything and start an engine? Will the pressure push the piston out? And I guess how does the piston and spring go back in the right way?

I hope i don't have to buy a new freaking pump.

Please help me out.

P.S. I think I found out why the new hose sunk in there without catching a thread:

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The thing was stuck to the old hose, now i have to get it unscrewed and somehow bang that piston out!!!

 

[vaksanov]

So I replaced my pump finally. Bled the system by putting front on jackstands and going lock to lock for about 20 times. Even after that there were still little bubbles. So when I turned the engine on, the fluid just disappeared. After refilling it a couple times all of a sudden I see a leak on the passenger side rubber boot. I am assuming it's pretty bad news huh? What broke and what could have caused it?

Thanks

 

[uss2defiant]

could you be more descriptive on what you actually did?

 

[tommudd]

By rubber boot do you mean from the tie rod end on the steering rack?
If so you're going to get to know your KJs " rack" very well

 

[LibertyTC]

Val if you can post a few photos, that would be very helpful.

 

[vaksanov]

To explain where I got to where I am:
After I replaced the pressure hose, I tried bleeding the system, and I remembered I had to do lock to lock about 10 times, well I did it with the engine running, and the pump was screeching everytime I was turning the wheel, I did not think I had to do it with the engine off so after I did that 10 times it was still screeching and I thought it was a good idea to drive it around parking lot and give it a little gas so the air gets pushed out, well, in the middle of my run the pump stopped screetching and after couple yards I lost my power steering. I think this is where I screwed up my rack and pinion as I parked without power steering??? But there were no leaks at that time.

When I replaced my pump, I jacked up the car and did the lock to lock 20 times this time with the engine off, and with the cap off and on. After I started the motor the fluid started bubbling up at the top and dropped, so I thought I passed the air bubble. I turned the engine off, topped it off and did lock to lock for another 10 times. When I started the engine again the fluid just kept getting sucked and more air bubbles appeared, and it seemed like it was getting sucked into return line. After turning the engine off some fluid came back into the reservoir. I wasn't sure how much fluid it took after replacing the pump, i kept adding fluid with the engine on and all of a sudden I saw a leak on the passenger side boot:

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So did I screw up my rack and pinion when the pump went out while I was driving? The fluid levels were normal and it stayed the same when the old pump was in.

If I screwed r&p at that time, could it have caused the air to keep getting in the system and causing all the bubbles when I changed the pump?

I guess I need to find the cause of the air getting in so after changing r&p i don't mess it up again.

And just to make sure the o-ring goes on the outside of the lip of the hose and not between the lip and bolt right? That is how the old one was.

 

[tjkj2002]

Leaking pump meant all the fluid most likely leaked out and taking off the pressure line then replacing the pump means you have to bleed the system which you did.It is normal for air bubbles to still be present for a little while but that leaking rack means you must replace it(alignment required also) or you will burn up the new pump when it runs dry and having the fluid aerated all the time.


Fun little job,$500-$600 in labor alone(not including the rack price or alignment) to do that job.

 

[vaksanov]

Well i ordered the part today from rockauto. Will have to buy some tools and wait for it to get a little warmer to take on the project. Got a garage on post but no way of getting it there so will see how it goes but hopefully it won't be too bad to do it in the parking lot.

 

[vaksanov]

Woo! Went and got all the necessary tools to save some money and reinstalled the rack using instructions found in this thread http://www.jeepkj.com/forum/f202/how-steering-rack-replacement-48537/

Was pretty useful and it was a pain in the butt to fish the old rack out as the cross member mounts and steering bolt knuckle kept getting stuck in the little wheel well space on the passenger side. So i just forcefully wiggled it out.

For the new one, I took the hard lines off and it wouldn't go in through it as well, so while the fan was removed, I removed the upper fat radiator house and put the passenger side in first, then i dropped the driver side in and pulled on passenger side so the driver side became shorter and guided it through the well that way. Way easier than trying to put it all through the other way.

After bleeding with the engine off there were no bubbles, I turned the engine on but didn't rotate the steering wheel and it was pretty bubbly, so I manually bled it again and let it sit over night. Next morning I turned it on and no bubbles so I was excited ha.

Now it feels a little stiffer than the old rack though, I am not sure if it is normal for a time being for the new pump and rack to get a little loosened up and also I have noticed may be a quarter of an inch wobble. I don't know if it I drove a different car for 2.5 weeks and just forgot how the jeep steering felt.

Do I need to re-check the cross member nuts and bolts to see if it will eliminate wobble or is it normal?

Also it's been sitting for 2.5 weeks and when I started her, she's been idling super rought and throwing missfire codes on cyl 2 and 4. I ran seafoam through vacuum lines, let it sit and and put another bottle in the gas. After burning it off it still shows missfire on 4. Is it because of the moisture that might have accumulated?

I am planning on changing coils and running BG cleaner once I burn this old gas off.

P.S. will the Advanced Auto $20 coils work? Or do I need to go Mopar?

 

[LibertyTC]

Alwways start with the spark plugs, clear codes, then restart.
If the codes return, then onto coil location swaps, to see if the codes moves .
I personally would want the Mopar coil packs, I will let others comment on other brands usefulness or lonjevity.
Try a water remover if ya been using ethanol fuel with some chevron techron concentrate.
A good stbilizer like Star Brite Marine, is superior stuff too for any phase separation caused by water related issues.
http://www.starbrite.com/en/startron

 

[vaksanov]

Seafoam seemed to do the trick and she's running smooth but I still have the wobble in the steering wheel, about 1/4 of an inch.

I looked under the hood and it's the shaft that connects into rack and pinion. It has a slight move without moving the rack. I took the retaining bolt on that bracket off and pushed the bracket all the way in on the rack and pinion bolt and retightened it again and it still has a little wobble.

Is the bolt on my remanufactured rack and pinion worn out and shaved, hence not sitting as tight on the bracket? And how can i fix it?

 

[uss2defiant]

There's another bolt on the intermediate shaft that might need to be retorqued.
bolts are #3

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[vaksanov]

Figured it out! I went full ****** and put the bolt on the wrong side of the freaking bracket!
Back to normal now!

Thank you for everyone's help!

 

[uss2defiant]

Great.

was it the bolt where the shaft connects to the rack and pinion? #3 on the right of the picture I attached?

 

[profdlp]

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[vaksanov]

Great.

was it the bolt where the shaft connects to the rack and pinion? #3 on the right of the picture I attached?

Yes it is that one lol, one side is flat and the other one has cutout in it, it goes in the cutout side.