Rebuilding the power steering pump on my '89 XJ40

Alright, so my car recently developed a leak in the power steering pump. I’ve removed and replaced that pump several times over the years … been there and done that

This time however after reviewing many past post on the forum I decided to rebuild the pump myself. Cost for a rebuilt pump starts at around $200 with shipping and goes steeply up from there. Cost for a rebuild kit about $8 which consists of 3 “O” rings and a shaft seal. Nothing ventured nothing …

I forgot just how hard it was just to REMOVE the darn pump. The chrome heat shield over the header pipes was a real pain getting off even after pulling the distributor for more clearance. But as hard as that was it seemed like a piece of cake compared to removing the rear bolt that mounts the pump to the engine. There are actually three bolts, but the other two are easily accessible. I ended up welding a 10mm socket on the top of a 3/8" drive. And even with my special tool it was still a battle. Hard to explain but I needed to be under the car to guide the socket onto the bolt while my wife leaned in over the fender to turn the wrench.

But eventually I had the pump sitting on my work bench. I decided to go in through the back of the pump so I didn’t have to pull off the drive cog that’s pressed onto the shaft at a very precise distance and requires a special Jaguar tool to remove. The rear plate of the pump is held into place by a very strong large metal circle clip. It took me forever to discover that there is a small hole in the side of the pump that allows you to stick in a drill bit against the side of the metal clip which aids in removing it.

Once you have the end off everything comes apart very easily EXCEPT for another metal circle clip that holds on the impeller. This is a very small one that fought me for awhile before i finally got it off. But now everything came apart and I could remove the shaft with the drive cog still attached. Replacing the “O” rings and front shaft seal (the usual culprit on these pumps) was a piece of cake, just keep careful track of how everything came out. Double check that you have that big steel circle clip correctly seated when buttoning up everything.

Reinstallation was straight forward just a little nuisance getting that one bolt tightened up. Three days now of highway driving and no leaks. So the whole job cost me under $15 including new power steering fluid.

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Well done! At 72K miles on my 1990 XJ6 I hope I’m a long way from having to do that project.

Been there, done that. I used an 8" C clamp to compress the spring with the back plate so I could reinstall the circle clip.

Joseph …

Well obviously you know what I’m talking about when it comes to removing the “THIRD” bolt holding the pump on. I really like a challenge but … please !

Did you have as much fun as I did removing the small cir clip ?

John … If you do have to do this repair in the future we can hold your hand and walk you carefully thought it :smiley:

Oh yes! The 3rd bolt. Don’t worry, I had my “fun”. I remember I had to feel the location of that bolt and just tried to position the socket on it.
It took me awhile to find that small hole and I used my awl to remove the circle clip.