Stop the Squealing! (Power Steering Belt)

[HokieDSM]

Hey folks,
My power steering belt started squealing about 2 weeks ago - first started doing it only when the car was cold - now it does it every time the car comes to a stop. It'll stop at some random point, usually after I've accelerated a bit coming into third or fourth gear - and then it won't do it again during that drive most likely.

What's the best way of fixing this? I've got a new belt if needed - but the old one doesnt look much different from the one I've got in my hand here - is there an easy way of checking/fixing this?

 

[DiabloRT]

It may not be your PS belt squealing.

It may be the crank pulley. Just replace the one on my 97 GST...same problem. The old one seperated into two pieces when I removed it.

 

[HokieDSM]

I've done a lot of work lately, and whole timing belt mess was one thing I was hoping I wouldn't have to deal with until the spring - I'm still about 10k miles away from the timing belt interval.

I do get a loss of power when the squealing is occurring - not much, but enough that I notice it when it stops. I've been thinking its the PS belt because thats where the sound seems to be coming from, it's up front high instead of down near the crank. I had overfilled the PS reservior a little bit, so I think that caused some leakage that I'm guessing has caused this whole mess...

 

[DiabloRT]

well it could be the pump seizing up.

I would pull all the belts and check to see if each pulley spins freely and if there is excess play in each pulley.....especially the crank.

The loss of power sounds like that ps pump might be seizing up.

 

[HokieDSM]

Yeah... that'd be the best way of diagnosing it... although it's definitely not EASY, which is what I'm really needing at this point. The car's my daily driver, so I can't really afford to take it down for a month and work on it out in the cold.

Thanks for the replies, I'll have to check the pump over the weekend.

 

[yoshimitsuspeed]

Where oh where has this thread gone.
Standard practice of diagnosis is to start with the most common cheapest and easiest to fix.
In this case that is the belts, so before we start jumping to pullies breaking and bearings dying and the fact that an alien may have crawled into the timing belt and is dying a slow horrible death, lets check and tighten the belts.
I don't know how much different the 1g PS pump is from the 2g but on mine I take a hammer handle and pry against the block or the bracket and the pump. Of course you have to loosen all the bolts first. pry it tight and tighten the bolts. This one doesn't have to be very tight since it doesn't have a lot of resistance. also make sure you are prying against strong parts with as much surface area contact as possile (This is why I use a hammer handle instead of a screwdriver or prybar).
Check your alternator belt (I am sure you can find the tolerences for these belts here or on vfaq, I don't know them myself since I do it by feel now). If it is loose there should be an adjuster (If the 1G is different someone please correct me but I believe it is pretty much the same) there should be a bolt that goes through the adjuster into the alt, there should be a long bolt that goes from the bracket into the adjuster. First loosen the bolt that goes through the adjuster and alt then tighten the adjustor bolt untill it is within specks, next tighten the bolt going into the alt. I always give the adjustor bolt a couple turns afterwards to put tension on it so it is less likely to come loose.
Go to the auto parts store and get some belt dressing. I am fond of silacone, I think it's called k2 or something like that. It is not an adhesive but a silacone gel. It softens the belts and makes them hella sticky. If you can't find that there are other good belt dressings out there. If you have AC you may have to do the same to Your AC belt. If none of these help it is time to figure out how to get that alien out of your timing belt.