Power Steering Belt Job
Only question I have is whether aftermarket power steering
belts are all that inferior to OEM belts. Anyone? Otherwise, a little report follows, for comments and/or the archives. We had some extreme cold (for where I live, out West) for a couple weeks, whence I noticed that my car's engine was making a light but quite noticeable squeaky-squealy sound under all operating conditions. It was not too loud, but it was definitely different from the engine area's usual sounds. It seemed to be coming from the power steering belt. I checked when it was changed last, and it appears neither I nor any shop has touched it since before 2000, over 70k miles ago. Today I changed the PS belt with minimal trouble. One key tip that I think has been noted here before, but I will note again, since it was not in my Chilton's manual: The pump housing has a 1/2-inch square receptacle on the top where one may fit one's 1/2-inch drive breaker bar and pry to get the belt tension and then tighten the pivot bolt. The old belt was indeed /very/ cracked. The engine sounds now seem to be back to normal. I haven't road tested the car yet. I used a "Duralast" belt for $7 from Autozone. A packet of "belt dressing" cost me another $1 or so. I never used belt dressing before, but I recollected people suggesting it here in the past, so I thought I'd try it. |
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