Power Steering Pump Failing--UPDATE It Broke! - All fixed !!

latief · Post by **latief** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 12:59 pm

I have a VERY loud screeching noise coming from the passenger side of the engine bay. I think my PS pump is in its last days........

Any idea if 00-02 and 03-05 neons use the same pump? will one of an srt-4 also work?

thanks

NickKo · Post by **NickKo** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:13 pm

Are you sure it is not the pump, but the belt instead ?? ( OR the Accessory Belt Tensioner )

- Nick

latief · Post by **latief** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:37 pm

NickKo wrote:Are you sure it is not the pump, but the belt instead ?? ( OR the Accessory Belt Tensioner )

- Nick

Thanks nick,

I'm not 100% sure, but it seems to be the pump. the screeching noise is more of a high-pitched grinding noise that responds to engine rpm. it could be the accessory belt tensioner also, yet the depth and nature of the noise makes me think it has something to do with the power steering pump. i should remove the belt and check, but i am not sure how beneficial that will be since none of them will be spinning at that moment...

I think i need to listen in using a screwdriver or something, to see what is going on...

any ideas about the fitment of the pumps relative to the year?

I really hope it is the pump and not that damn tensioner , that mounting plate is a rare and expensive piece. not to mention extremely hard to get to (the whole raising the engine procedure sucks!!!)

Paul56 · Post by **Paul56** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:47 pm

latief wrote:
NickKo wrote:Are you sure it is not the pump, but the belt instead ?? ( OR the Accessory Belt Tensioner )

- Nick
Thanks nick,

I'm not 100% sure, but it seems to be the pump. the screeching noise is more of a high-pitched grinding noise that responds to engine rpm. it could be the accessory belt tensioner also, yet the depth and nature of the noise makes me think it has something to do with the power steering pump. i should remove the belt and check, but i am not sure how beneficial that will be since none of them will be spinning at that moment...

I think i need to listen in using a screwdriver or something, to see what is going on...

any ideas about the fitment of the pumps relative to the year?

I really hope it is the pump and not that damn tensioner , that mounting plate is a rare and expensive piece. not to mention extremely hard to get to (the whole raising the engine procedure sucks!!!)

Replaced that plate on mine last summer... I will tell you that the idler was not running very smoothly even though it was not making noise.

There is some troubleshooting that can be done if you are handy:

-Remove the PS/AC belt then verify for noise.

-Still noise? Then remove alternator belt and verify again.

Pray it is one of those because if it isn't you will need to dig deeper into the timing belt & water pump area... unless you've already done that job.

latief · Post by **latief** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 1:51 pm

Paul56 wrote:
latief wrote:
NickKo wrote:Are you sure it is not the pump, but the belt instead ?? ( OR the Accessory Belt Tensioner )

- Nick
Thanks nick,

I'm not 100% sure, but it seems to be the pump. the screeching noise is more of a high-pitched grinding noise that responds to engine rpm. it could be the accessory belt tensioner also, yet the depth and nature of the noise makes me think it has something to do with the power steering pump. i should remove the belt and check, but i am not sure how beneficial that will be since none of them will be spinning at that moment...

I think i need to listen in using a screwdriver or something, to see what is going on...

any ideas about the fitment of the pumps relative to the year?

I really hope it is the pump and not that damn tensioner , that mounting plate is a rare and expensive piece. not to mention extremely hard to get to (the whole raising the engine procedure sucks!!!)
Replaced that plate on mine last summer... I will tell you that the idler was not running very smoothly even though it was not making noise.

There is some troubleshooting that can be done if you are handy:

-Remove the PS/AC belt then verify for noise.

-Still noise? Then remove alternator belt and verify again.

Pray it is one of those because if it isn't you will need to dig deeper into the timing belt & water pump area... unless you've already done that job.

Done that job ^^^^....

it is one of the two parts, I just have not trouble-shooted it systematically yet....

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:08 pm

The P/S pump is the same from 2001-2005. The SRT unit is different.

If worse come to worse and it is the tensioner pulley, either use the # I posted to get just the pulley (still a lot of work to change it) or I have a new one that I can sell you at a very good price.

latief · Post by **latief** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 2:45 pm

Danteneon wrote:The P/S pump is the same from 2001-2005. The SRT unit is different.

If worse come to worse and it is the tensioner pulley, either use the # I posted to get just the pulley (still a lot of work to change it) or I have a new one that I can sell you at a very good price.

Great...

I will let you know once i get to work on this........

Thanks

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 3:01 pm

Good luck

I just re-read my post...just wanted to clarify that I have a new plate/tensioner assembly.

Post by **occasional demons** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 6:35 pm

You could also remove the belt and see how hard the pump is to turn by hand. I think if it is the pump making all that noise you may not be able to turn it by hand. It should spin with near zero resistance, since you prolly can't spin it fast enough to build pressure.

latief · Post by **latief** » Tue Oct 14, 2008 9:33 pm

occasional demons wrote:You could also remove the belt and see how hard the pump is to turn by hand. I think if it is the pump making all that noise you may not be able to turn it by hand. It should spin with near zero resistance, since you prolly can't spin it fast enough to build pressure.

Will do that tomorrow if i have time...

thanks for the tip

latief · Post by **latief** » Thu Oct 16, 2008 10:08 pm

turned out to be the damn tensioner, it is about to fail...

Danteneon, you have a pm....

latief · Post by **latief** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:25 am

So the Gates pulley cam in today, i will be changing it very soon.

for the people who did this, any idea what kind of torx -bit i need for the bolt? I have a torx-55 bit currently, should that work?

see the link, i am talking about the bolt that hold the pulley in place.....

http://chronoscender.freeservers.com/ne ... ptens.html

it is the first picture ......

thanks !!!

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Fri Oct 24, 2008 11:04 am

I can't remember what size it was, but it's smaller than that. Closer to a T25 or T30

latief · Post by **latief** » Sat Oct 25, 2008 9:58 pm

Danteneon wrote:I can't remember what size it was, but it's smaller than that. Closer to a T25 or T30

So i was going to buy the torx-bits (ironic isn't it), and i heard something hit the underside of the car ............the whole pulley just fell apart, i cannot find my accessory belt anywhere...and of course no power steering and AC...that is not a big deal.....

the big deal is that i think the tensioner pulley broke the bolt that holds it in place, and i can't seem to find the back piece that holds the pulley in place...talk about bad luck !!!!

I will inspect it tomorrow, but i think i will need the whole bracket-assembly now......just more money to spend.....

blue demon02 · Post by **blue demon02** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 1:18 am

latief wrote:
Danteneon wrote:I can't remember what size it was, but it's smaller than that. Closer to a T25 or T30
So i was going to buy the torx-bits (ironic isn't it), and i heard something hit the underside of the car ............the whole pulley just fell apart, i cannot find my accessory belt anywhere...and of course no power steering and AC...that is not a big deal.....

the big deal is that i think the tensioner pulley broke the bolt that holds it in place, and i can't seem to find the back piece that holds the pulley in face...talk about bad luck !!!!

I will inspect it tomorrow, but i think i will need the whole bracket-assembly now......just more money to spend.....

Mine did the same thing once. Just go to a J/Y and pull one off a motor. That or I found one on E-bay.

Post by **occasional demons** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 3:19 pm

Ther should be three pieces: the screw, the pulley and the tensioner assy. If the screw broke, you may get away with a screw and washer, but the trick would be getting the old part out.

Edit: Oh yeah, the Torx size is T-40

latief · Post by **latief** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 5:38 pm

wait, after seeing your pictures, maybe i can salvage this......i thought there was another part on the other side of the tensioner. maybe the pulley on mine just collapsed....

thanks for the pics.... i will check and update this tonight........

Engine moderator is what you should be

latief · Post by **latief** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 7:52 pm

Looks like i might not need a new plate after all. although not 100% sure, but the bolt seems to be in place. I will have to dig into this and see...

thanks for the input !!!!

Post by **occasional demons** » Sun Oct 26, 2008 8:46 pm

A picture is worth a thousand words!

"and i can't seem to find the back piece that holds the pulley in place.."
Yeah, that got me thinking; so I dug out my old one, to see how it was put together...

latief · Post by **latief** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:08 pm

Problem fixed, gates pulley worked fine!!!

thanks for the input everyone !!!

Danteneon · Post by **Danteneon** » Tue Nov 04, 2008 12:59 pm

Sweet man! Well done