big powerstearing problem

[bronson]

well its been about 3 weeks now, the first two weeks whenever i would turn on the car it would squeeck loud, it would go away after like 10 seconds. but now for the past week it screetches all the time and even louder when i turn and it also gets hard to make the turn like the power steering is going out.... i take it thats what the problem is. a new power stearing pump is about $119. should i just get rid of it all together or is there a way to fix this? and if i get rid of it how does the belt work with out it?

HELP!!

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

First off check you belt to make sure it is even riding in the groove. Squealing is a sign that the belt isn't tight enough. Not enough tension for long enough and you could wreck the belt. Make sure the belt is tight first of all. Then take it off and check the pulley on the power steering pump for side to side or up and down play. If you want to remove it there are two ways. You can either just remove the belt, or remove the whole system and loop the PS lines together. Always check belt tension and condition. If it looks shiney get a new one and see if that helps.

 

[kspharris]

You should take a close look at the belt, if it is all cracked and dry rotted it is bad. Also check the tension on the belt, it should not move that much. Check your fluid and the hoses. You will need to look for signs of leakage. Replace the hoses and the belt if necessary. Look at all your lines closely and follow them around werever they go. Don't be lazy, check them good. Fixing a small problem now is easier than fixing a huge problem later. If that dosen't help pm me and we will go from there.

 

[bronson]

i just got done checking the belt. its not cracked, shiny, and it is riding in the groove. i made it a little tighter but the schreetching just got louder.. i did not remove the belt to check if the pulley had any play yet.

is there other things being powered by the belt that the car needs besides the AC compressor? would the car run fine without them?

 

[kspharris]

You could just cut the belt off but have you checked the fluids and lines? The car will run fine without the belt but it will be hard to turn the wheel at low speeds. Let me know if you have any other questions.

 

[bronson]

yeah i check the fluid and its full, the lines are all fine, no signs or leak or anything..

so is it just the power stearing and the ac compressor being lost or is there anything alse?

 

[brute]

The belt may have been exposed to water or oil. A common thing is to have some oil on your hands when you install the belt, then it squeels until it's clean. You might wanna try pulling the belt with one hand through a rag being held by the other hand. These fluids may also damage the belt, and while damage cannot be seen now, if you bend it backwards so the teeth seperate, it may be easier to spot cracks or damage.

 

[d3m0]

Odd.... You should really just double-check your tensioner pulley on it and make sure it's tightened all the way, I had the same problem after my PS to A/C belt snapped, the noise was horrific. After tightening the tensioner pulley all the way, and some WD-40, it seemed to be gone as a whole. Just my .02