My power steering pump broke. Time to delete?

[redpoint5]

Nice!

Apologies for my first post. I thought this was an accumulation of problems on the same car... and even if it was, I don't need to be annoyed and then be annoying.

[Xist]

Is keeping a less-than reliable car cheaper than training to be a mechanic?

[Xist]

My afternoon clients canceled, so I used my 69" digging bar to push the power steering pump into position.


I drove around the block and my steering was perfect, but the serpentine belt still squeals a bit. I adjusted it a few times and improved it, but I was not interested in spending all afternoon.

[Ecky]

Love the white tape grille block.

[Xist]

That Gorilla Tape is almost two years old! It has survived snowstorms, pressure washes, and everything else! I do not know how to remove it without taking off the paint!

[iikhod]

Whaaat, that's not you in the avatar pic?
That's some good old driweway mechanics right there.

[ps2fixer]

Based on what I'm reading and seeing, you're trying to get the belt tighter and tighter, maybe it's not the tightness of the belt? Maybe there's a different belt the squeak is from that you're not effecting? After it's tight and bolted down, try to move the belt up and down in the free hanging space. It's kind of subjective, but if it's tight it will have a distinct tight feeling, loose you'll have a lot of wobble up and down. Too tight it will be like a guitar string.

I come from the Toyota world, there's a block the alt bolts to and an adjuster bolt, no pry bar needed =). My Corolla has two belts while my Lexus and T100 have a single belt.

Remember basic physics, the fulcrum point determines how much the effort multiplies. On the OLD cars, you'd loosen the two bolts that hold the alt and pry on the one with the groove to tighten the belt. Normally you could pry right on the ear where the bolt goes in to get a very good leverage to push it tight. Everything was cast iron or atleast steel back then so bending and breaking wasn't so common, but belts being too tight was a problem sometimes.

Quick test if the belt is the source of the squeak.... spray a very small amount of penetrating fluid on the belt. Use the straw if you need to so it doesn't go anywhere else. If no more squeak then you know it's related to that belt and the penetrating fluid should wear off pretty quickly.

Not sure what OEM brand Honda uses, but some Toyotas use Gates branded belts, never had a problem with that brand, it's known as a good brand to use on GM products too.


It's been like a month since the last post, so guessing either you figured it our or you've just put up with the noise.

[redpoint5]

What about belt dressing. What do people think about that product, if even to diagnose the source of a problem?

My truck has a squeal, but I drive it too infrequently and it's worth so little that I haven't spent the time to track it down. That and the few dozen other issues it has.

[ps2fixer]

Cheapest and easiest is penetrating fluid. Belts squeak from glazing which is very hard stiff rubber but smooth, so it skips on the smooth metal pulley. A new belt is normally soft and has more friction with the pulley so it slips less or almost zero.

The penetrating fluid doesn't fix the problem and it could make a non squeaking belt start squeaking till the oil wears away, but you will hear a change if the belt is the cause. It's like rubbing your hand over a mirror and you get the smear sound, throw a little oil on your finger and do it again and it glides with less effort. If you wash your hands to not have the natural oils on your fingers, your finger will have more friction and make more noise when it slips.

Remember, a tiny bit goes a long way, don't soak the belt or you might have very bad slipping pulleys which will be worse than a noisy belt. I did this first hand long ago with out thinking and my water pump runs off the back side of the belt. The water pump ran slower and the engine ran a little hotter than normal because I soaked the back side of the belt. It made the squeaking go away though for a few miles. Replacing the belt fixed the belt in my case, inspecting it showed a shiny hard surface on the belt.


Also did a quick search on belt dressing since I've never used the stuff. Seems like it's not advised to use on modern belts.

http://www.daycoproducts.com/why-bel...t-a-noisy-belt