Idler pulley now power steering

[SN95GT50]

I had an idler pulley go bad and spin itself off. I was about 1/2 mile from the dealership so I pulled in and had them replace it. They said that the ps pump got air in it and they had to bleed it because I drove it 1/2 mile without a belt. Anyways, all fixed, a week later I start hearing noises from the front end, pop the hood and I can see were ps fluid has leaded out of the top of the reservoir. Dealer tells me that I ruined the pump driving it without the belt, this sounds like bs, is it? I used to drive my Mustang with a short belt all the time and I have 140k on that pump without a problem.

Any ideas,
John

 

[Dan Whitaker]

I'd say the Stealership is trying to screw you. Sounds like they over filled it or didn't get all the air out.

 

[SN95GT50]

Kinda my thought as well.

 

[jls1znv9999]

Well if you can sit in park and try to turn the wheel and you don't have to muscle it over the dealership lied to you. You can run a PS pump with air in it, it will make an annoying whine but it won't burn it out. If you have air in the pump i have found that just pulling the pump and filling it up and slowly at first manually turning it will purge air from the pump itself. It's easier and cheaper than having to pay out the rear to have someone do it, or having to rent a tool to purge the system. It's a straight forward to it yourself repair. Save money when you can.

Also if you get a chance head your local car wash and with engine running spray the fluid and ensure clean area, be sure to give it some distance while spraying. You don't want PS fluid in your eyes or mouth.

 

[96eb96]

I had an idler pulley go bad and spin itself off. I was about 1/2 mile from the dealership so I pulled in and had them replace it. They said that the ps pump got air in it and they had to bleed it because I drove it 1/2 mile without a belt. Anyways, all fixed, a week later I start hearing noises from the front end, pop the hood and I can see were ps fluid has leaded out of the top of the reservoir. Dealer tells me that I ruined the pump driving it without the belt, this sounds like bs, is it? I used to drive my Mustang with a short belt all the time and I have 140k on that pump without a problem.

Any ideas,
John

Nope, my idler pulley broke and caused lots of PS fluid to spray out, and it took some time to get all the air out and stop making noise. Make sure the level is correct. Maybe it wasn't bled correctly and there is still some air.


And here is another idler pulley failure....change your idler & tensioner pulleys guys!

 

[marragtop]

In bleeding, it may help to get the front wheels off the ground and do the hard right, hard left, hard right... etc process.