High pitched squealing when turning?

I'm getting this high pitched squeal when I turn the steering wheel while sitting still. I'm also starting to notice some resistance when turning into a parking spot. I'll start turning and it feels fine but then it's like the power steering just cuts out for a second and comes back. I'm thinking p/s pump? Anybody been through this before?

 

You are probally low on Power Steering fluid or your pump is going.

Matt

 

we are going through the same thing with my car, its either a belt about to go or the p/s fluid is low or you have a leak. either way get it checked ASAP!

 

Mine did that when it was cold. It turned out the belt was pretty old and need replacement

 

Same as mine. Had plenty of fluid, but the belt was old. After replacement, it was good as new.

 

Did you get the belt from the dealership? How much was it?

 

no, got it at napa. i am not even sure if the dealership down here has a parts department.

 

at SOG it was 140 for parts and labor when i had mine replaced.

 

Mine does that when my wife is in the car and I take a turn to fast. Haven't located the source yet...

 

So the belt was like 25 bucks?

 

I would just get it from napa and install it yourself!

 

That's the plan. I was just making fun of the dealership/outrageous labor prices cliche.

 

Ding ding ding. 95% of the time its a belt issue.


Dealer prices may seem outrageous...but you have to remember that the people on car forums typically...

A: Do not take their vehicles to a dealership.
B: Do not have the money for dealership work.
C: Do a ton of research before taking their vehicle in for dealer work.
D: Think that dealerships are 'stealerships'.

I could go on all day on how dealer pricing is appropriate....however, I do have opinions on certain pricing that should NOT be done.

One important thing to remember is that a dealership has TREMENDOUS overhead costs. They have to pay the bills to keep the doors open.

Point is, if you dont like the prices, then don't complain, go elsewhere.

A typical dealership will charge you about $40 for both belts and 1.0 labor units for install. Depending on the labor rate, here at Collins it's $75 per unit...SOG was $98.50 per unit last time I checked...other places are more, some are less. There are some dealers in the area that are over $110 per unit. Still there are others that are under $65 per unit. It all depends on the area and market.

 

i dont remember, but i also drive a car thats no longer in production and i was suprised they even had the belt. and yea will is right labor at SOG is outragous, if you have the tools do it yourself.

just make sure the belt is dryrotted before you buy it! thank you SOG for that one ... prolly my dad's fault too.

 

:eek2:



for the 2 hours of labor Batman! Very ouch.
Surely the PS belt aint that hard to change?!

This all coming from a guy to lazy to change his own oil. :rofl:

 

it was only 1 hour of labor at like $98 an hour. i didnt have a choice, it was that or leave a rare car on the side of I20.

*edit* we didnt exactly have the tool and the GSP officer wouldnt let me drive the 5 miles to the subaru HQ building.

 

No need to explain. Trust me, Ive paid through the nose for a few things that HAD to be done right now and I didt/couldnt get to. We all do what we gotta do to keep going.

I'd never leave a car on the side of the road, thats what AAA is for! :bowdown:

 

dont ever let the gsp call a tow truck for you ... that was one expensive bill!

i need to get AAA

 

Why couldn't you drive it without power steering to the dealership? Would he not let you or what? I've driven a couple cars without power steering, I actually preferred to not have it on my s14. I drove someones civic without it too, but that was more of a bitch.

 

I dont know.

We will never know the logic of someone else's thinking.

 

yeah, that was the first thing i had to change on my '02 when i got it. did the exact same thing you are describing, changed the belt in like 10 or 15 mins on my own and problem was gone.

 

SoG may have a high labor cost versus the next guy but i tell you what, they installed a defective belt and it broke (was dry rotted from sitting there so long) They not only replaced it free of charge, they payed our towing bill. They at least attempted to make it right so now i don't cringe so much about having to pay they're labor costs

 

Problem solved. The ribs on the belt were pretty worn out. So I picked up a new one at SoG and put it on myself in about 10 minutes. Thanks for everyone's suggestions.