Loud screeching, then no power steering?

[SpoolinDSM4g63]

Ok here's the story. I cam across a used 95 gsx manual for sale at a local credit union for very cheap so i picked it up. The car has had the check engine light on since i bought it a few days ago. The car also screeched very loud everytime the car was near idle almost like a belt screeching pr something. Anywho i was driving down the road when even in the higher rpms(where the screeching usually stopped) the screeching continued and finally stopped. After it stopped i had the the dash lights come up as if i stalled the car and when i went to turn i realized the power steering was gone! Also the car started to heat up intensely so that when i shut it off i could hear coolant bubbling. But there was NO power loss and the car ran normal besides those things. I ran i search and read up on something called a harmonic balancer and was wondering if this could be it or if anyone else has had this happen to them. Any help is great help. thanks.

 

[92redman]

Tighten your belts. You lost power steering and the dash lights came on because your alternator belt and power steering belt are loose. Either tighten them up or replace them if they are worn.

 

[oldman]

Did you check to see if the belts are still there? Yes, a bad harmonic balancer can cause the alternator to either skip or snap, which means your water pump and ps pump pulley is no longer turning.

 

[IceDragon]

this one happened to me before... yup, check your altenator belt's tension... mine magically disappeared one night driving about 50 miles away from home... had to call up the pops to bring out the trailer and pick me up... that sucked...

 

[SpoolinDSM4g63]

well i looked at the engine during th day today and saw that the power steering belt/water pump belt was shredded to hell. Im assuming it was because the car was sitting in an ohio winter the last few months not being driven. I am changing out all the belts and the crank pulley as a precaution and of course for scheduled maintenence purposes.

 

[oldman]

I'm suspecting when you pull out the crank pulley, you will find it in two pieces.