4.5-inch pulley and 94-inch belt
I blew up a power steering pump in my 1997 Jeep Cherokee. I still plan to install a Redneck Ram cylinder-assist kit with a new steering box one day, so while replacing the pump I also installed a smaller pulley. For another XJ example, JCR Offroad’s RealHawk build uses a West Texas Offroad Redneck Ram assist on a 2001 Cherokee.
The PSC PP2401 is a 4.5-inch, press-fit pulley with six ribs and the correct offset for this Jeep accessory drive. Because the power-steering pump is a belt-driven accessory, making its pulley smaller spins the pump faster at any given engine speed. If it replaces a 5.5-inch pulley, for example, the pump turns about 22 percent faster: 5.5 divided by 4.5 is about 1.22.
The practical benefit is more available pump flow at idle and low engine speeds. That can make the steering respond better while crawling, particularly with larger tires or cylinder assist. The pulley does not by itself raise the pump’s pressure setting; the pump and its relief valve still determine maximum pressure. Once the pump’s flow-control system is regulating output, spinning it faster provides less useful benefit and may create more heat. The pump, reservoir, fluid level, belt alignment, and any steering-assist hardware still need to work as a matched system.
On my 1997 XJ, the original belt was too long to tension correctly after installing the smaller pulley. The Gates K060935 (Amazon) (O’Reilly) is commonly sold as a 94-inch, six-rib belt; Gates lists a 93.42-inch effective length and a 93.99-inch outside circumference. It fit this installation. Belt routing and accessory combinations vary, so treat that as a record of what worked on this Jeep rather than a universal fitment claim. There is a useful installation discussion at NAXJA.
SP1205C PSC Power Steering Pump
| Quantity | Item | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SP1205C | Pump with Reservoir |
| 1 | PP2401 | 4.5-inch PSC power-steering pulley |
| 1 | FL-SWE715-4PAK | PSC Swepco 715 Power Steering Fluid |
| 1 | PSP01 | Power Steering Pump Pulley Removal/Installer Tool Combo |
Installation
You should check out this video on YouTube: How to Properly Install a Power Steering Pulley.
I wish I’d learned this trick a long time ago: When installing the new pulley, it can be hard to hold the pump while working with the pulley removal and installation tool. Watch the trick in this video: Tech Video: Power Steering Pump Pulley Installation
The trick is to put 3.5-inch-long, 5/16-inch bolts through the pump and place the bolt heads in a vise. You can then gently secure the pump with washers and nuts. This made removing the old pulley and installing the new one much easier.
If you’ve got questions about any of this, please feel free to send me an email.