How do you replace a power steering pump on a 2000 Dodge Intrepid?

Answer 1

Did this last weekend (2May09) and was a PITA. My experience was for a 2.7L engine. First make the engine safe by disconnecting the battery. Then Remove the belt driving the pump. Loosen the center bolt on the idler pulley then find the adjustment bolt that is to the passenger side from the pulley at about 10 o'clock from the front. Loosen this using a socket and long extension. Should turn easy and the belt will loosen. Then release the oil return line from the pump reservoir. It is held in place with a spring clamp. Just slide it back. Pull the oil return line off the reservoir and catch the oil in a pan. It will make a mess. You should remove the pressure hose which threads into the bottom of the pump. If you find a wrench that fits this space, then yea! I was not that lucky. Anyway, the rubber hose has a crimp on metal pre-bent tube that runs to the pump and attaches to the bottom at an odd angle. You can see it from above but just barely. It is rather tight. In case you could not get a wrench on the pressure hose, move on. Remove the three bolts that hold the pump to the engine. Access is through the holes in the pump pulley. Don't pry on the pulley as it is plastic. There is a split bushing that pushes into the pump for clamping pressure on the bolt at the 9 o'clock position. It must slide out to release the pump. Wiggle and pry the pump to get this to move. In my case, I had to release the wiring harness that passes just above the pump along the valve cover corner. This allowed the pump to tilt back enough to get a wrench on the above mentioned pressure hose fitting. Remove the hose fitting and lift out pump. You must use a Power Steering pulley puller to get the pulley off. I got a borrow tool from auto parts place. Remove power steering pulley. Remove the 3 bolts that hold the reservoir to the old pump. Transfer it to your new pump. Replace the O-ring with a new one (my kit had it included). Reinstall bolts. Reinstall power steering pulley using bolts in the removal kit. Do not hammer or press the pulley on as it will damage the small mechanical seal (ceramic) on the shaft inside the pump. Reinstall the pump in the its hole. Depending on your luck with the hose the steps will change. But in my case, I put the pressure hose back on using a new O-ring, installed the 3 bolts, put the return line back into place, reinstalled the belt and tightened it, filled the pump with ATF-4+ (TSB recommends this now), hook up battery and start it up. Run the engine and turn the steering fully to each side and back. Check and add fluid to reservoir as needed.