Help Power Steering
 

That dam steering pump. the pump is not leaking it only squeals when it is below 30 deg or when I turn the wheel to lock. When I first start up I have very hard steering until the car rolls a few feet. The wheel has hard jerky movements. After driving 1 mile the steering is perfect. I suspect the belt that was sold to me by Advanced Auto 3 months ago. the Belt for the Air was one brand $10.00 the other belt for the steering was a different brand and $8.00...Made by Drive Rite . Pleas help. how tight can I make the belt. I tried the turkey baster trick 3 times still will squeal

If it's slipping it needs to be tightened. Also check that the tensioner pulley is not siezing up. Just make sure you tighten the bolt on the pulley after you tighten the belt.

Ok I turn the tentioner thinggy untill the belt is very tight then I tighten the bolt in the middle of the pully. No play in the belt Very tight right. I remember on the old chey they said if it was toooooo tight it would ruin the bearings. I sprayed a small shot of Belt stick on it and it helped for about 2 days.

Two things. One, when the PS pump bearing goes, it whines pretty loudly. An easy way to test the bearing is to take off the PS belt and rotate the pump pulley back and forth by hand and listen for any noise. The other is when the reservior's O-ring is shot, it will allow air to get in the system, causing more whining, especialy on cold mornings. Your symptoms sound more like the second problem. Don't bother getting the exact replacement O-ring from Subaru, it will flatten again and you'll have the same problem in a couple of more years depending on your climate. Just get an O-ring that's twice as thick and be done with it. If that doesn't alleviate the noise, then you'll have to do a rebuild, which isn't hard or expensive, but you have to be careful.

KuoH

The O-ring replacement is a fifteen-minute job. I replaced mine last night. The old one was flat as could be, and snapped in half when given the opportunity...

yes too tight is just as bad as too loose. You should have aproximately 1/2in. deflection i believe in general. A good rule of thumb would be 90degrees of rotation take the belt and with regular finger pressure you should be able to turn the belt towards the front or back of the car and be able to turn 90degrees.

That is about what I have as far as tightness goes. Just wondering if it is just a cheap belt. as for the O ring would *I be loosing fluid? I am not.

Still not working , wine and squeeeel is gone, now that the weather is warm. I get hard to turn notchy steering and then once I go forward 100 feet all is fine. Will change the "O" ring next week. If it doesn't help, what is that steering light all about? Also if I go to Auto Zone the guy says he has a new unit ( rebuilt $185.) but never asked about the type of steering. Asked the year maybe that tells him. Is this going to be a night mare to change?

No, you don't have to loose fluid to have one that is bad. It can suck air and that will give you problems as well. That is the first thing I would do next. It is so simple to do and will solve so much. :)

See the How-To Docs on how to do it. :)

I printed the how to do thanks.....

Hey, I got a rebuilt one for $98 from Advance Auto Parts. There appears to be no difference between the L or LSi except for the pressure switch which you transfer over anyway. That notchy steering happened to me to before total failure. replacing it is a 25 minute job max.....pretty easy.

John

What is involved in the change over? Can you explain a few spots i may have troubl with? A little afraid changing the hoses . Could this be part of the reason the battery goes dead if I drive it only a little ways like 2 miles a day to work after a week the battery will be dead like I said the belt will squeal for a good 2 min. I believe the alternator is on the same belt?

It's really quite easy to do, but make sure you get a star drive for the two bolts on the resevoir. Replacement is simple. Remove the fluid in the tank with a turkey baster. Remove the tank, keeping it upright so as not to lose the rest of the fluid, two star bolts and one below in back, remove the return hose from the top of the reservoir. Slacken the drive belt, you'll see the adjuster bolt head in front and below the pump. Using a drive socket and extension, place the socket/extension thru one of the lightning holes in the pully so you can keep the pulley from rotating when you remove the nut. Once the pully nut is removed, tap the pulley from the back side and it will pop off. Disconnect the lower hose leading to the pump itself, remove the three bolts holding the pump to the casting. That's it. Reinstallation is reverse, however do NOT forget to install the new o-ring on the reservoir nipple that goes into the pump. The old one may be so compressed that you might not recognise it as an o-ring.