Power steeling went out.

HeXp£Øi±

HeXp£Øi±

Well-Known Member
Last night the power steering went out on my Laredo. I checked the power steering fluid and it's fine but then i notice that the belt connected to the power steering & fan isn't moving. It still drives though. Is this a busted flywheel?
 
No, the flywheel is buried inside. Odds are either you've slipped a tensionner, or the hub bolt holding the pulley has slacked off. With the engine off, try moving the bits by hand and see what moves in a direction it shouldn't./
 
I couldn't tell ya as I know nothing about cars, but I do know that power sterring can be exspensive to fix. SOrry about your car.
 
Ok just got back after taking a closer look. Looks like the inside of the flywheel is turning but the outside part that the belt lies on is not. Also the outside part can be moved back and forth. :(
 
Oops. I didn't mean the flywheel. The thing that comes out of the front of the engine that the power steering pump belt is connected to. Don't know what it's called.
 
Maybe Kruz will show up as he probably works on them ,might want to post vehicle specifics ,Make/Model/year/engine etc...
 
No, the damper is behind the pulley. and if it's the lower (crankshaft) pulley that's loose, you need to get it towed to a garage and fixed, because not only do you not have power steering, your altenator and your waterpump aren't working either.
 
Professur said:
No, the damper is behind the pulley. and if it's the lower (crankshaft) pulley that's loose, you need to get it towed to a garage and fixed, because not only do you not have power steering, your altenator and your waterpump aren't working either.
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This is too difficult through text. :toomuch: What does the belt rest on, the vibration damper or vibration damper pulley? That part is the part that's loose. The part in the middle (looks like a bolt?) whatever it's called, is turning. I think the entire unit is called the harmonic balancer is it not?

I really don't want to take this thing to the garage. I'll take the radiator out if i have to to repair it myself.
 
The harmonic balancer and the vibration damper are one and the same (usually). There's a pulley (multi grove) in front of that. A large bolt passes through the centre of both of them and into the crankshaft. Usually, there are several smaller bolts connecting the pulley and balancer together. All of your belts are powered by that one big pulley. It the bolt is loose, you can try tightening it yourself, provided the balancer hasn't worked it's way forward. If it has, you'll want to be damn careful. Some people would just run it back onto it's shaft (crankshaft) using the bolt, but you might be trapping crap behind it, or even drive it on crooked. You'll definitely want to remove all belts from the pulley before you try that.
 
Just take a digipic and highlight the problem areas :D

Edit: Not that I would beable to help but it might help the people who know about this stuff know exactly what you mean :D
 
they need to invent some sort of tricorder for your car. "scan complete. it's your alternater".
 
HeXp£Øi± said:
I did that but now my camera is acting screwy and i can't get the photos to transfer to the computer. :eek8:
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Ain't technerlogery great? :lloyd:
 
You definitely want to make sure to be careful when you put the harmonic balancer back on, since that's what cancels out natural vibrations from the crankshaft to make the engine run smooth. If you put it on crooked, your engine will seem to shake an awful lot. There should be an indexing pin, but you never know. Does the balancer turn? That's the big, thick metal thing with the timing marks on it; that's what you point the timing light at when you're trying to adjust your timing.
 
Inkara1 said:
You definitely want to make sure to be careful when you put the harmonic balancer back on, since that's what cancels out natural vibrations from the crankshaft to make the engine run smooth. If you put it on crooked, your engine will seem to shake an awful lot. There should be an indexing pin, but you never know. Does the balancer turn? That's the big, thick metal thing with the timing marks on it; that's what you point the timing light at when you're trying to adjust your timing.
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Yes it turns. One thing i haven't mentioned yet is that the harmonic balancer was bent. A few months back i looked down and noticed that it looked uneven(wobbly) when running. Also the car seems like it has been getting progressively louder with more vibration. Almost feels/sounds like the tires were out of balance or something. I was afriad all along that it was the HB and now i guess i know.
I'm really hoping that pulling the radiator out will give me enough room to maneuver and replace the thing myself.
 
Is it like the shaft the balancer is on is bent? If so, that's really a surprise since crankshafts are cast iron or steel, both materials requring one hell of a lot of force to bend if it's as thick as that shaft is.
 
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