Hey I'm new here, but have browsed these forums off and on for years to diagnose things, but this one I'm not too sure on, so I made an account.

I've got a 1998 Chevy Blazer LS trim, RWD with the 4.3L Vortec, with AC.

I have this whirring type of noise coming from the front driver side when the engine is revved above about 1k RPM. It seems to be coming from the Power Steering pump pulley, but I've not had a chance to pull the belt off yet and play with the pulley to see if there is any issue with it. Until I get the chance, I figured I'd ask for opinions. Power steering fluid is nominal on the dip stick, that was the first thing I checked to diagnose PS pump noises, and I don't feel anything unsual while steering so the pump seems to be functioning.

'm just concerned with this noise as a couple years ago what was a simple squeal on the belt ended up being a water pump exploding on this thing and very nearly ruining this car for good, so I'd rather not have the PS pump go ballistic on me. Any thoughts?

 

What is the condition of the fluid? Generally this fluid is not changed and was never intended to be changed but with our vehicles getting upward to 20 years old, I decided I should change it. The color difference between the old and new was astonishing.

 

I don't recall right off as this was checked a couple of weeks ago. It seemed like it was a solid brownish, kinda like lightly used oil.

I'll admit, I'm a very inexperienced person in car repair; I don't know exactly what the fluid should look like, so what difference did you see in yours, exactly? I'll check it tonight when I'm able to to see what it looks like.

 

Yeah, your fluid is pretty old. New PS fluid is almost clear, yellowish or redish, but much more clear. Not surprising as like I said as these fluids seldom ever get changed unless something fails. You likely have a bad bearing in the PS pump but it could be the belt itself.

 

The belt is brand new, though I'm having a seperate problem with it where if I drive over the slightest puddle of water and it splahes up onto the belt system, the whole thing loses traction and I lose all functions of the belt. That's most likely a bad tensioner issue that I plan to address soon, but I don't immediately believe this sound I'm hearing is linked to it.

Or it could be, I don't know. Maybe I should up the replacement of the tensioner first and go from there.

As for fluid, I might look into changing it as well, if I can figure out how to do that. A lot of my issue wit working on my car is I live in an apartment complex that doesn't look kindly on self repairers like myself, and I work a weird schedule for work that doesn't let me out till 9 at night.

I assume, if it does end up being a bad bearing, I'll have to replace the whole pump and not just the pulley, correct?

 

I'd go ahead and replace the tensioner and perhaps the idler wheel too while you are at it. The bearings in those go bad too.

Changing the fluid can be a big mess as you have to disconnect the return line to the pump and have it pump the fluid into an oil pan while pouring new fluid into the pump. When it comes out clean, then you hook it all back up. There are a few videos on Youtube that show this.

 

Yeah I'm not getting away with doing THAT at my apartment complex, for sure. I'll figure something out, I know a guy that knows a guy so who knows.

Thank you for the info though! Hopefully this doesn't result in needing a whole new power steering pump, cause at the point I'll probably have to just replace the fluid anyway.

 

If you're buying parts locally at a store. Park in their lot, off to the side away from the building and work on it there. It would be bad business for them to give you crap about it.

 

I did actually ask about this today. I was advised that, while the store does not mind in the least, the city itself likes to take exception to people self mechanic-ing in public parking lots.

In other news, I finally got the belt off and played with all the pulleys. The Tensioner pulley sounds like absolute crap, the idler feels like it's nearly seized completely, and the alternator squeeks and is just junk at this point. Sad, cause the Altenator is barely 2 years old this month, but lifetime warranty, so it'll be free.

I played with the power steering pulley and I couldn't get any noises out of it, and it spins fairly okay when it's freehand spinned. I've definitely got a small list of parts to replace that is growing rapidly, but so far it doesn't seem to be anything major.

 

Alternator, tensioner, idler pulley, those are all pretty easy fixes and we all probably have done them at least once. If you do end up fixing your rig in the parking lot at the parts store, you should be sure you have all the tools you need with you so you can do the repair quickly. Changing out the PS pump would be a chore. Keep the fluid full for now and it could last quite a bit longer.

I once impressed a friend when I came back from a trip to the airport in the city 90 miles north of where I lived to find my alternator was bad. We got my truck to her family business's shop and then we got a new alternator at a parts store. I was able to replace it using the tools in my truck in about 30 - 40 minutes without even breaking a nail! LOL