Power steering failure diagnosis help please!

[lockwood77]

Well, took the FD to the petrol station on Saturday and as soon as it started up, it was making a strange "..wwOOww.." noise every second or so, like when a belt is misaligned or something and every time it comes round a certain point it makes a noise.

Didn\'t think too much of it as it was damp and I don\'t usually use the car in the wet, so thought it might just be a damp belt drying out. Apparently not - a mile or so later, the steering started to become quite heavy and the car was making groaning noises as I turned the wheel...

It looks like there is power steering fluid coming out the top of the reservoir, although there is plenty of fluid in it from what I can tell. Clearly the power steering has failed - any ideas what? Pump, servo, whole damn thing?

Also, can I drive the car to get it somewhere to be repaired and should I seek a specialist, or is it basically the same as every other car and can be trusted to a sensible mechanic?

As an aside, I also noticed the alternator belt is old and cracked, what\'s the best procedure with that - get a standard Mazda one and change the other belt in front at the same time? Could it be the cause of the power steering failure?

Bah, just as I\'m selling the Integra and can\'t drive that anywhere either! :Grrr

[m1tch]

Might be something seizing and causing the PS pump to stop being mechanically turned, I would check all the belts as if say an idler pulley seizes its not just the PS pump that will stop turning etc also check how tight the belts are, if its too tight it puts a lot of stress on the bearings etc

[lockwood77]

Cheers mate, will have a look. That belt certainly looked worn and cracked, so it could be related - I need to dig out my workshop manual to see which pulley is which!