power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

Hi All,

I have a 2001 Elantra and when its cold out, maybe50 degrees or below, I start my car and the power steering screams very loudly. It can last anywhere from 20 seconds to 2 minutes. I dont even have to be touching the steering wheel and it screams. After that 2 minutes, I turn my wheel and it screams even more. SometimesI lose steering too. When the engine warms up (driving for about 15 minutes), it stops.

One day I started my car and it started to scream. I got out and I looked under the hood, and the power steering belt was turning faster than the pully for the power steering pump while it was screaming. Nobody was touching the steering wheel. I tightened the belt real good, almost to the point where the pully is bending. (Its not bending though) Basically I tightened it has much as it will tighten. IT STILL SCREAMS and the belt still slips.

Like I said, this happens only in cold weather.

Nobody has ever opened the system, the fluid level is fine, and the belt is tight AND ITS NEW. The car has 103,000 miles on it.

Could the power steering pump be seizing up when its cold out, making the belt slip and also making it seem like the belt is lose? (basically making the pully hard to turn, thus making the belt scream)

Also, at night, I turn the car on, of course it screams, then after 2 minutes it stops, and then I turn on my headlights and I hear a little bit of noise coming fromthe steering pumpagain. Then I try to turn my steering wheel, making it scream some more, sometimes my battery light comes on and then everything goes dim. AfterI stop turning the wheel, the lights go back to normal and the battery light goes out.

It just seems to me that the power steering pump is starting to seize up. Could that be true?

What the heck could be happening???

Please Help!!!
Thanks
SG

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

It could simply be a plugged screen in the power steering reservoir. See attached TSB recently issued by Hyundai.

[IMG]local://upfiles/4972/93A04C50440F4828A44724F90949AD02.jpg[/IMG]

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

I actually came here to post the exact same thing as the original poster. I suppose I won't be getting a follow-up from him, but does anyone else have any other opinions? I can talk to the mechanic about that plugged screen thing, but I want to make sure I get it right because I'm a starving college student and don't exactly have the time or money to keep going back and trying to fix the problem. I have to drive back home in a week and it needs to be fixed.

Alternatively, if I let the car warm up for a while, will it prevent the steering wheel from seizing up? Because it has gotten very bad lately and the battery light comes on so much to the point where it's hard to pull into a parking space. I'm just hoping it's because the temperature dropped about 50 degrees in one day and the car went into shock.

Thanks for any help. Just trying to get home for Christmas without my steering wheel locking up on me!

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

Sorry to tell you this but it's probably theseals in the steering rack are leaking. If the sound and hard steering go away when warm then it's probably the rack. The P/S fluid warms up and that warms the seals getting them to seal better.

Bottom line: time for a new steering rack.

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

before you go putting new pumps in, try a new belt. You may have tightened yours as much as it will go, but try a new belt. New belts will grab so much harder. If that dosnt help, go to the junk yard and grab a new pw st pump..

I dont think its the rack, if it were the case, than the fluid level would be low, but he said the lv is good. but wtf do i know, im just a doit your selfer...

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

Thank you guys, I really appreciate it. Sounds like two very good possibilities that can be narrowed down one way or another. I've got a good starting point now.

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

I'm also having very similar problem. Although I have already replaced, the belts, replaced the fluid, rechecked the belts, and when cold and turning the steering wheel the pump still locks up causing a very loud squeal. I've been told by several mechanics that its the alternator belt is loose. Very hard to believe but today i'm going to try to tighten it. Let you guys know how I make out.Any other suggestions if this doesn't work.

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

Hard steering and squealing when cold that goes away when it warms up is usually the fluid seals in the rack itself. Check the belt first and if it's tight, it's prpbably the pump or the rack.

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

Just wanted to update everybody. Tightened the alternator belt up so that it will only flex with good pressure. No more squeal and no more pump locking up on a full turn! I couln't believe it myself. I havn't heard of any rack problems with this car which is why I didn't change, sure glad I didn't. Tried it several times no noise.

sgreiner and bus1239, my car was doing, from what you said, the exact same thing, except for the battery light. Makes sense that you may want to tighten your alternator belt. Let me know if it works.

RE: power steering SCREAMING! HELP!
 

Glad to hear it was just the belt. Good job.

Power Steering Screaming
 

I can confirm now what some of the other posters have said about tightening up the alternator belt. I just went through all of the same hassle trying to figure out the screaming in my pump, and when I tightened up the alternator belt it all went away. Thanks everybody.

okay im gunna bring up a thread thats 3 years old lol. but i have a 2001 elantra, that i thot i got for a steal at 2400 with 92k on it. bad decision.. in addition to my car riding extremely rough, having a bad wheel bearing in the front right wheel,a bad alternator, a bad upper tie rod in the front left wheel, and having a hard time catching the fly wheel when trying to go into reverse., i drove my car to school today and when i pulled in the parking deck a heard a high pitched screaming sound when driving towards my parking spot. i started turning into the spot and it screeeeeamed and my steering wheel was shaking.

i had my dad look at it after school and the power steering belt is being restriced when i cut my wheel only 45 degrees either way and it screammms. tightened the power steering belt and it didnt help.. and i cant be sure, but i THOUGHT i saw my lights dim when i was turning the wheel

i honestly doubt its weather related, (even though this was the first days its dipped under 30 degrees) because i drove my car all the way to my school without any problems. i will note that when i started my car for the last couple days i heard a very quick sqeaking, but it only lasted literally a second.

but my car is just sitting in a parking garage now and i want an idea of what my problem is if this is not weather related. thanks

ps , i also put $15 in my tank and zero'd out my trip mileage measuring thing. with 4 gallons of gas, i got 55 miles.. what the f***

shoulda bought the 98 toyota camry with 100k for 2700.

My squeeling stopped when I replaced the belts. They arent to be too loose or too tight.
When they were changed out they squeeled a little and it finally disappeared.

Hopefully thats all you need to work on.

I was embarrassed though, my belts were the originals!!! almost 10yrs old!!!
I bought it second hand and hope the timing belt was changed its at 125,000 now.

its only worth about $1200 so any major repairs and its over.

my other post didnt take...

the power steering is not going to ruin the car. If it were to fail completely you can still drive it in manual steering like people did for many years before the luxury of power steering became the norm.

You'll be able to drive it home, in other words. Put in a PS pump etc..

for the gas mileage, I found a $2 vacuum tube was leaking on my intake that ruined my gas per mile....an old trick, is park the car, have the hood open running....safely squirt carberator cleaner spray around the engine and see if the engine starts choking....this will find most any vacuum leaks.
if so, like mine was found up on the intake. Autoshop gave me $2 hose to replace the little 2 inches of hose that had developed a hole....

gas mileage and performance back to normal.

the reason this happens someone told me is the gas is ratioed to the air intake, with a leak of air in the vacuum system the gas is dumped into the motor to keep the balance...hence the horrible gas mileage.

hopefully yours is the same issue, easy and cheap to fix

good luck

Hi SG.
You can tighten the power steering belt until you are blue in the face and it won't stop the screaming. You need to tighten your alternator belt. The alternator belt drives the pulley that drives the power steering belt, and since the alternator belt does not make very good contact with that particular pulley it must be kept tight. This will also take care of your low lights and battery light coming on. Once the alternator belt is tight (or maybe you need a new one) all of these troubles will go away. The power steering pump is fine. I went down that same road and wasted my money on a power steering pump before I figured out what was going on. Good luck with your Elantra.

power steering belt noise fixed
 

OMG! There is something wrong with after market belt sizes!! I had my timing belt replaced and the regular belts changed and then the power steering belt keep squealing esp in the am when cold(wintertime and when turning the wheel lock to lock anytime). The mechanic tried to tighten but did not notice that the adjustment was at it's max. I did. I went to hyundai and got the orig belt and I just finished having them replace it. I had then give me back the old belt and sure enough it was too damn big!! It was the right belt in their computer system but the wrong one for the car! sooo simple but it took some time to get to the bottom of it. The new belt has lots of adj room left as it should and the problem is solved. :) :D 2009 accent

Tightened the alternator belt up too and it works! No more squeal! Thanks

Mine had the same problem. I read a lot about it and here what you should do. The noise is like slipping belt and the steering is hard at low RPM when cold. Sometimes the power steering pulley stop turning. HERE WHAT I HAVE DONE
FIRST: change the oïl. remove the reservoir, clean it, spray varsol and wash it as much as I can to clean the filter Inside the reservoir RESULT, no change i do it again, as the oïl is not clean the first time.
SECOND I replace belts. I tight the belt, remember the alternator belt drive the power steering belt, so tight both belt. yes yes the alternator pulleey drive the power steering pump yes yes
THIRD if still noise then you need to check the releif valve Inside the pump. Under the high pressure hose, there is a fitting. Remove the high pressurre hose at the pump. Remove the fitting. Under the fitting there is a plunger followed by a spring. Just pull out the plunger and sand outside diameter of the plunger with a sand paper 120 grid. Also at the fitting, there is a hole where the plunger goes in. This hole size control the flow. Drill this hole one size larger. Reassemble everythig
I does that to my car and it run like it never been. Make sure you do not lost the O ring under the low pressure hose fitting at the pump. You might have to remode the low pressure hose at the pump to have acces to this fitting. THIS SOLVE MY PROBLEM

Finally got this fixed!
 

The car had been squealing at startup, especially on cold/wet days, for over 2 years now. The steering wheel was difficult to turn during these squeals. Also, turning the steering wheel to either extreme would cause the squealing to start.
I tried tightening the power steering belt. Nothing. Power steering fluid OK. Pump seemed OK.

Read posts about tightening the main belt which goes around the alternator. Tried this out. FIXED. :-)

Thanks for the help everyone!

screaming power steering
 

Thanks so much i tighten the altanator belt and the screeming is gone