Power Steering Loss at Idle/Low Rpm

Had my steering rack, power steering pump, and high pressure line replaced this week. I've noticed that I lose power steering at idle and low rpm when I slowing down going around a turn or parking. The rack and pump are both rebuilt cardone. Has anyone had this issue before? I'm thinking there is something wrong with the pump.

Did you have a shop do the replacement? Or did you do it yourself?

Sounds like there could be air in the system still, that's how mine was before I bled it a bunch of times.

^^yup yup.
Either this or your fluid has dropped as a result of pushing out some air...make sure you keep an eye on it thoughout the bleeding process..
Do it until you think all the air is out, then do it 20 more times lol.

Pretty much why I asked if a shop did it, because if a shop did it and this results in pump failure, you need to make sure it doesn't come out of your pocket as a result of their negligence.

But if you did it, just keep on bleedin away. Make sure you go the whole way into the bump stops too until it whines slightly. If not you might as well not do it customers you'll trap air in the sides of the rack.
But don't force it into the bump stops, just go to the whole way to the end.
And don't crank the wheel quickly back and forth..
Do it slowly, do it right and shouldn't only have to do it once or twice..
Also, after 20ish and forths, let it idle for a minute then restart the process and you should be gucci

If it's real bad I'd do it without the engine running, jack it up. Let it sit 10-15 mins between sessions, keep checking for bubbles in the reservoir. Keep repeating it till you don't get bubbles any more.

I had a shop do it. They called me and told me that they took it on a test drive and brought it back into the shop and continued attempting to bleed the system. They claimed that the power steering fluid was as flat as can be with the cap off and they were not sure what was going on. I do notice that the pump is whinny when I first start up. I've been driving it around the past week hoping it was air that needed to work its way out. I've read something about a guy with a WJ having this same issue and it turned out he had a bad pump but I'd like to be sure that it isnt the new rack, high pressure hose or my new Mopar sensor.

I don't think it's the rack, as it likely wouldn't happen only at low rpms. It's not your pressure sensor, as 1 it would likely throw a code, and 2 is meant to monitor the system not make changes. I also don't think it's your high pressure line.
Have you at least taken off the cap to the reservoir to see where it's at?
Very easy to do the bleeding process yourself, and I'd definitely start there..

Is it filled with ATF+4?

I'd try bleeding it more or just keep taking it back to the shop, they should make it right as it didn't whine before.

Who furnished the parts , you or the shop ? If the shop furnished the parts , take it back till they make it right . If you furnished the parts , either you haven't got it bled properly or you got a defective part .

If any part is bad it's the pump I think.

Like I said, check your fluid level and bleed it further..
If the problem persists, they likely killed your reman pump by pushing air through it on a test drive when it wasnt properly bled.
And if they didn't get all the air out before they gave it back, I'm sure it's on its way out from running air through it all this time... especially if you can hear it whining.

I, along with others on this site I'm sure, am running the same reman Cardone pump that you are.. and mines pretty dang quiet after getting all the air out.. just took me a week of bleeding it each morning..
And yes, I thoroughly went through the process each time. The power assist was on point, but it still kept whining..
She's as quiet as any of the other belt driven accessories now though lol..

Seeing as yours is an 03 as well, there's a possibility it had power steering fluid as the fluid before, and if they didn't flush it out completely before filling with ATF+4 (which they should have done), then you could be running a mixture of the 2 fluids.. and your pump won't be a big fan of this..

I tried bleeding but also noticed that the fluid in the reservoir is clear...meaning they used power steering fluid instead of ATF4. Is this the problem or could it also be the pump or something else. When I was attempting to bleed the system I noticed it became harder and harder to turn the wheel once the truck was up to 190 degrees. I couldn't find anything conclusive about the difference between PS fluid and ATF4. Can anyone enlighten me?

03silverrenegade said:

I tried bleeding but also noticed that the fluid in the reservoir is clear...meaning they used power steering fluid instead of ATF4. Is this the problem or could it also be the pump or something else. When I was attempting to bleed the system I noticed it became harder and harder to turn the wheel once the truck was up to 190 degrees. I couldn't find anything conclusive about the difference between PS fluid and ATF4. Can anyone enlighten me?

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It really does not matter if it has PS fluid or ATF in there or a mix of both.Either will work and not harm any part of the system.They just recommend ATF+4 to keep down on the number of fluids required to as little as possible.

Re-maned pumps will make noise to some extent.

Now with the engine running remove the PS cap and look at the fluid,is it flowing at a good rate(should see swirling)? If not or very little at idle then bets are the PS pump is bad but I suspect you could have a internally collapsed line since it's heat related also.

No swirling at all. An internally collapsed line inside the pump or could it be somewhere else?

03silverrenegade said:

No swirling at all. An internally collapsed line inside the pump or could it be somewhere else?

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No flow you need to start with a pump 1st.As far as a internally colapsed line you will never know so that part is just replace.Never forget about the return line.