I need help with my power steering pump

Alag1983

New Member
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 15, 2022
Messages
12
Location
Cudahy, WI
So, I’m new to owning Jeeps and recently purchased one that I knew would need a lot of work to bring it up to snuff. I’m trying to do little things right now to keep it running and troubleshoot some problems the previous owner told me about. I’ve been lurking on this forum for the last few weeks soaking up as much knowledge as I can (and there’s a lot!).

I have a 1992 2.5l manual transmission with 193,000 miles on it.

One issue I’m trying to take of right now is replacing the serpentine belt (it was cracking and crumbling just by me slightly twisting it), but I’m having the darnedest time, as things are breaking or not going as planned.

First problem: I broke the tensioner nut while unscrewing the bolt. I’m not sure where to get a replacement and my internet searching skills are failing me. It has two holes facing different directions and the top hole is in a half circle on top of a square. I thought about trying to weld two nuts together that are offset, but I’m still new to welding and don’t trust my skills yet for this type of application. Any help locating a replacement nut or at least telling me what kind of nut it is would be awesome.

Second problem: The pulley on the power steering pump was broken and I thought it would be faster and easier to just replace the pump and put on a new pulley instead of trying to wrestle the old one off while not damaging the pump. I got the new pump and tried attaching the upper hose (I think - it is the hose with the sensor on it). When I completely screw that hose in, it is about 180 degrees different than what it was on the old pump and will be in the path of the belt. I’m not sure why this is happening and I don’t want to not have the hose screwed in all the way. As an experiment, I tried wrapping tons of teflon tape around the threads to get it to stop in the position I need it, but it did not help at all. I’m at a loss at how to connect the new pump with the old hose. I attached a picture from the original pump to try to better explain. The hose in question is circled in red. The blue line is how the hose would run when hooked up to the new pump. Again, any help is greatly appreciated.

Third problem: I also ordered new upper and lower power steering hoses, but neither of the ones I ordered are correct. The upper hose does not have anything to hook the sensor to and the lower hose looks too short and looks like it has a smaller inner diameter. I stupidly opened the lower hose, so I’m probably stuck with it, but the other hose is still in its package. I had a hard time finding hoses in stock to begin with and I didn’t see hoses with different options, unless I missed it. I wanted to replace the original hoses because they look like they will fail within the next year and figured I would just do everything now instead of later.

Again, any and all help is greatly appreciated.

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Tip…spray PB blaster on any bolts you plan on removing, let is soak overnight and then wrench on them. Also buy a 1/2” ratcheting wrench to loosen and tighten the belt tensioner bolt in the future. This saved me a lot of trouble.
 
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I am good friends with PB Blaster - I have a bunch in my garage from when I was working on a 2009 F150 with more rust than this Jeep. But the bolt itself turned fine and did not break - only the tensioner nut broke into three pieces. And I also have a 1/2" ratcheting wrench, also because of that F150. Definitely appreciate the tips, though, as you never know someone's background!

I just tried calling deadjeep.com but no one answered and the mailbox was full.

I've attached some pictures of the nut I'm talking about. I only found 2 out of the three pieces so far.

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On a whim, I went to my local Autozone and showed them the broken pieces and explained what they came from. He started typing away at his computer and was silent for a couple of minutes. Then he flipped his screen around and showed me Dorman part # 917-148. It is an idler pulley adjuster bolt kit for some kind of Toyota. Instead of round edges, it is squared off, but I think it will work. He told me he also drives a Jeep and knew he could find me something similar. I won't be able to get to the install until next weekend, but thought I would share my results so far.

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Did the doorman part for a Toyota work? I guess there is a TJ bolt by doorman that can be adapted to work with washers…surprised that doorman and nobody else seems to be making the yj part.
 
Unfortunately not (just finished trying). It is too thick on the side that attaches to the power steering pump bracket, so it will not fit and the power steeting pump bracket cannot attach to the pump. I'm going to try searching Autozone's website and see if I can find other, similar ones and if they have any in stock do a physical comparison. Hopefully I'll get lucky.
 
It looks like there is a different kit that might work better. Dorman part # 917-951. It says it is compatible with Wranglers from 1997 to 2002, but it looks to be the same size and shape. My local Advance Auto has one in stock that I'll pick up tomorrow and then I'll update this thread again when I've had a chance to try it out.
 
I'm going to guess that the nut on the old hose that winds up in the wrong position is frozen to the metal tube. It should spin around the tube on the hose freely.
 
I was wondering about that. I could not get it to turn at all and assumed that was the design. I ended up twisting the entire tube to the point where I believe I compromised its integrity. A new one is on the way - supposed to be here this past Friday, but now I'm not sure when it's coming. Hopefully sometime this week.
 
It looks like there is a different kit that might work better. Dorman part # 917-951. It says it is compatible with Wranglers from 1997 to 2002, but it looks to be the same size and shape. My local Advance Auto has one in stock that I'll pick up tomorrow and then I'll update this thread again when I've had a chance to try it out.
Yep, that is the TJ one I mentioned. Let us know if it works out…if not maybe try emailing doorman to see if they have or will make one for the yj
 
So some tentatively good news. From a physical perspective, it is only a little bigger than the one I broke and it fits fine into the space it is supposed to go. I attached the bracket to the pump and that worked out well, though I think I tightened the bolts holding the pump in place too much because it no longer slides in the slotted holes. I'm still waiting on the new hose, so I'm not ready to button everything up yet, but so far it is looking good. I typically only work on my vehicles on the weekends, so my next update will most likely be next weekend, assuming I ever get that hose.
 
Good news! The kit for the TJ does work, albeit with a little persuading. I ended up having to keep the bottom bolt that holds the bracket to the steering pump loose while I made all of my adjustments and set the tension. After that, I snugged everything up and couldn't be happier that there is a solution.

Another little bit of good news. The second high pressure hose I bought was the correct one. It's not worth returning the first one due to taking out all but $3 for shipping. So that part kinda sucks, but I'll get over it. And the return hose I bought was the correct one, it just looked funny when I was trying to match it to the one still installed.

Thank you everyone for your help and input - it truly is appreciated!
 
Good news! The kit for the TJ does work, albeit with a little persuading. I ended up having to keep the bottom bolt that holds the bracket to the steering pump loose while I made all of my adjustments and set the tension. After that, I snugged everything up and couldn't be happier that there is a solution.

Another little bit of good news. The second high pressure hose I bought was the correct one. It's not worth returning the first one due to taking out all but $3 for shipping. So that part kinda sucks, but I'll get over it. And the return hose I bought was the correct one, it just looked funny when I was trying to match it to the one still installed.

Thank you everyone for your help and input - it truly is appreciated!
Has the TJ Tensioner nut continued to work out for you? I did the same thing with my 92', but the nut being slightly larger tweaked my power steering pump a little forward, tilting the pulley outward and causing a terrible screech on the belt. I have sanded down the nut to be the correct width which seems to help take out the tweak, but damage was already caused to the pulley. Lucky those are cheap and usually in stock. Will be replacing that soon.
 
Has the TJ Tensioner nut continued to work out for you? I did the same thing with my 92', but the nut being slightly larger tweaked my power steering pump a little forward, tilting the pulley outward and causing a terrible screech on the belt. I have sanded down the nut to be the correct width which seems to help take out the tweak, but damage was already caused to the pulley. Lucky those are cheap and usually in stock. Will be replacing that soon.
To be honest, I don’t know how it is holding up. After installing it, I took it for a drive and discovered I had too much slack and the belt started to slip off. So I tensioned it more and took it for another drive, but the transmission is too trashed to keep driving it, so it’s collecting dust in my garage for now. And I knew the transmission was bad when I bought it, so it’s not anything I did. After the second drive, it looks like I still may need to add a little more tension (I noticed some very minor slipping), but there’s no point in doing that until it is drivable again. But I think overall it seems to be ok.
 
Sorry to hear about it not running now. I do know that with the TJ nut, I had to add washers under the bolt head to allow for extra pull.
 
I appreciate that. And I'll have to keep in mind possibly adding washers when I finally do get it back up and running.