Power steering WTF issue....

This may be one of my Dumb-%$# moments, of which i have many. But, when i rebuilt my motor, i lost the power steering within a week (pump made noise etc). Put in a used pump, and 2k miles later, same thing. The cap of the res. says "power steering fluid only". The book says "jeep approved fluid". I have been using basic fluid thats clear, the original in pump was red. A friend told me that Jeep uses ATF in power steering but that sounds odd to me. Anyone know? could I be using the wrong fluid...?

I have always used basic power steering fluid in my 95 and have had no problems with it. You could check with the Jeep dealer and see what they tell you to use. I doubt that your pump failure was caused by the fluid. I would suspect the used pump you put on was about shot when you got it.
Is there a leak in the system that is allowing the pump to run dry thereby causing the failure?

If the clear fluid isn't working, then go back to the original. Somewhere in your owner's manual is the type of fluid that should be used. ATF is specified for many applications, including my 2000 JGC.

I use ATF in mine.

But your problem might be metal or dirt contamination. You can take the pump apart and check it out. There are vanes in there and a pressure check valve inside. There is also a flow control oriface in the high pressure line fitting.
Try inspecting that first and then take the old pump apart and look. You have nothing to lose since you have another one installed.

I have an owners manual? news to me lol, anyways, i have yet to replace the pump. When i do i am going to use ATF and see how that goes. Something odd happend today, i was driving to work, and i didnt hear a sound from it, not one peep. I mean usually it's so loud u can hear me coming. The sound can be described as that of an overloaded A/c system, a constand "rattle-like" sound that runs in approx. 1 second intervals. I guess my point is that i did not hear the sound again till i was almost home from work this afternoon. When i get the old pump off i will disect it to see if i can find some sort of obvious failure..

I have an owners manual? news to me lol,...

You did say in your original post, "The book says 'Jeep approved fluid'..." ah well my fault for assuming it was the owners manual.

However with 2 failures now, Alohabra may be on the right track. Definitely take the first one apart to see what's in there.

well, by book, i ment, 'haynes manual'. those books u pick up at the parts store that help me in my many "i got this apart... how does it go back together?" moments....

Roger that. You could always stop by the dealership and ask them what's recommended, or buy an owner's manual on Ebay or somewhere.