seaingdouble

Heard a squealing under hood on way home, steering got eratic. Next day I went outside and started the car and after a few mins idling, I noticed fluid all over driveway under car. I looked under the hood and the p/s pulley had come completely off the pump and fluid was leaking everywhere. I took the p/s pump off today and it still turns fine. Where would the fluid leak from? The lines were tight, so it must be from somewhere else? Are the pumps or reservoirs known to leak? I don't want to buy a new pump to find out its the reservoir...which looks o.k., but not quite sure. Car only has 87k on it. Any help appreciated

KeithZ28ss

iTrader: (1)

Not sure if you need a new pump or not, but if you do, I recommend one from Turn One. I put one in my car not too long ago after my PS pump died, and I like it. Turning is not as loose as before, feels a little tighter. See link below.

http://www.turnone-steering.com/catalog.html

whytryz28

iTrader: (28)

Jack the car up, spray a degreaser on the pump, lines, etc. clean everything. And start the car and watch for the first sign of fluid loss.

Best way to find the leak without replacing parts you dont need to.

7998

iTrader: (1)

Your going to have to get under the car and trace the lines and everything else involved. This is not a known problem that I'll aware of, now steering racks thats another story. Sucks you just bought it but thats usually when stuff breaks.

seaingdouble

Does the fact that the pulley came off the pump have any significance here? Wouldn't the pump have to lock up or something to have that pulley come off? I can now slide the pulley on/off the pump by hand, is that normal?

sic2001

iTrader: (5)

thats not normal, I would buy a new pump w/pulley from Autozone or wherever after cleaning the area real well to make sure theres no obvious leakage from the hoses.

seaingdouble

I|'m going to be buying a new pump, pulley and reservoir. The reservoir has a tiny hole in it where the pulley groove is. Not sure what caused what, but to be safe I'm replacing it all.
QUESTION - How do I know if my car has the p/s cooler or not? I don't see rpo codes on the door...car has been repainted.

sic2001

iTrader: (5)

the option cooler sits in front of the radiator I believe and is hard to miss. And you may want to explore what caused the hole, you dont want to put a new one on then have the same thing happen.

seaingdouble

I agree..thats why everything is getting replaced. I don't know how else to approach it. The reservoir is bad, the pulley is no good. The pump looks and feels o.k., but I don't want to replace the reservoir and pulley just to find out it was the pump afterall and damage the other new parts. The lifetime pump at advance is $66 so I'd rather pay that than 150 for yet another alt.

sic2001

iTrader: (5)

I didnt know they were that cheap. Thats about the only thing left in my engine bay thats not new so its time is borrowed. Did you look for the option cooler?

seaingdouble

Yeah $66 at advance with lifetime warranty... I'm getting the pulley and reservoir from gmparts.com I looked for a cooler and there is no such thing anywhere near the rad/condensor so I'm guessing it doesn't have one.

I went ahead and removed the alternator while the p/s pump is out. It was brand new but drenched in p/s fluid. Local shop said they could disassemble, clean, dry, test etc. for $40. Beats 150+ for another new one. There was one wire that was shoved into the connector on the top of the alt...what is that for? It looks like someone stripped the end of the wire and shoved it in that plug on top?
I never dreamed I'd spend so much time working on this T/A this soon!!