I have a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee which I bought used. Last oil change they told me that the power steering pump was leaking. The leak was not enough to be seen, but it did seem to make some noise every once in a while so I took it in to get a new power steering pump at the dealer. Two days after they put the new pump in, power steering fluid was pouring out on the driveway, it was a really big puddle of fluid. I had to put new fluid in to drive it five miles back to the dealer. They said that it needed a new line, they were not sure why it needed a new line, they guessed because of the high mileage, 164,000 miles. I told them that my Mercury has 287,000 miles on it and has never had the power steering pump replaced or the line either. I have driven most every car I ever owned 300,000 miles and have never replaced a power steering pump or line. But anyway, when the Jeep was supposed to be ready, they told me that the new line blew up spraying fluid all over the shop as soon as they started the Jeep and they had to get new parts so it would take another day or two. My question is what caused the new line to blow? My thinking is there must have been something wrong with the new pump or with the installation, somehow it was outputting too much pressure, anything that could blow a new line, would blow the old line. What is your opinion about how this happened? They did get it back together and working; just very curious.
The first pump they installed probably had a defective pressure relief valve that caused the hose to blow.
Tester
I had to have my power steering pump replaced on my 1987 Dodge 600 SE about 3 or 4 years ago, probably more like 3 years ago. The car had about 175,000 miles on it and it was a first replacement. The pump had a leak. The warranty was for a measly 6 months. Recently the power steering pump went bad again. It was leaking and the steering wheel became hard to turn. I kept filling it up. Oddly, though, the issue seemed to resolve-- I didn’t have to keep filling it and the car wasn’t hard to steer. I assume something gummy must have fallen in the leak hole and patched it on its own, because I had not gotten it refixed. But now my engine is blown, so the car is shot. I don’t know whether the power steering fix would have lasted or whether it would have gone bad again sooner or later, but that is my experience. I suspect the mechanic didn’t do a great fix on it the first time, although I recall I was charged over $500.00.
They might have damaged the old, weak hose by flexing it around in the process of changing the pump.
That’s the charm of an old machine: fix one thing, disturb others and cause more problems.