power steering is out!!!

[ochowdero]

i have no clue what to look for or even no how to fix power steering..
would you guys know?

the belt seems alil loose, and besides that i have no clue what could be wrong

thanks for the help!

[batmmannn]

Look at the power steering reservoir probably out of Power Steering Fluid, adding fluid as you need it should fix the problem till you find the leak and stop it. Also tighten your belt.

[ochowdero]

okay seems easy enough,
ill go do that right now and see if it helps

to tighten the belt would it need to go to the shop??
please say no hahaha

[batmmannn]

No you can tighten the belt with a 14mm socket and a pry bar. Jack up the car under the front right wheel, set a jack stand, never work under a car resting only on a jack.

Look for the pivot bolt at the bottom of the Power steering unit. The back nut you can reach from behind the left front wheel.

Once you loosen the bottom pivot bolt you loosen the top lock nut.

Wedging a thin pry bar in between your power steering unit and the motor you pull back and this forces the belt tight. While pulling tight as you can you tighten the top lock nut. Be careful don't pry against anything weak or plastic. Don't break anything. Then go back and tighten the lower pivot bolt.

If you still have the large lower plastic shield under the motor you might want to drop this but be careful cause these small 10mm bolts love to snap off. Try to get to what you need by removing just the bolts that do not go into the enclosed frame. Most likely you will snap some but still have enough to hold it in place when you are done. You can probably do this with that shield on though by going behind the front passenger wheel for the bottom pivot bolt and from the top of the engine bay for the top locking bolt. Belts will squeal loudly at start up if they are too lose. If you hear this after adjustment go back and repeat everything and make it tighter. The AC and Water pump belts have separate adjusters. They don't need the old fashioned pry bar pulling. Hope this helps.

[ochowdero]

i just popped the hood, loosened the pivot bolt,
then pryed it back to tighten the belt,
tightened bolt back up and now it runs great..
theres a sound tho when i turn the wheel
any idea what that might be?

[batmmannn]

If you are getting a whining sound when turning the wheel you could have air in the system or the bottle still needs more fluid. Check your fluid level again fill as needed and see if the whining doesn't stop after you drive it a bit. The air will work itself out.

If the whining persists even after you have driven it a while and it has the right level of fluid then you will most likely need to replace your power steering unit. The whining sound is usually the first indication you will get that you are running low of fluid again. Make sure your lower pivot bolt is tight you should not have been able to pry your unit if the lower pivot bolt was tight. Both upper and lower bolts need to be secure to keep tension on the belt over time.

[ochowdero]

ima check it again tonight,
my dad loosened the bolt im not sure if he did both
i was checking something else on my car when he was doing that..

when i came back i just pried it and tightened worked good.
i just got back from a lil run and didnt really hear it..only when i cranked it hard to get out of a tight parking spot..