03MBC320

Hey guys, been noticing lately mainly when pulling in and out of parking spots that in basically the last 1/2 rotation of the steering wheel to the put the wheels at full turn, i get a pretty loud squeaking noise.. just wondering if anyone else is getting this and if this is normal?
its most apparent when sitting still or at a slow roll, although i guess thats cuz when im driving at higher speeds its rare that i'm gonna cut my wheels as far as they can go lol
i took a look from the outside of the car, and when the wheels turned all the way to the left, the front right tire rubs a little, but thats not what the sound is coming from because it does it going the other way when none of the tires rub
any suggestions?

nickgailloux

The sound is your power steering pump. Its normal if you are at a full turn (you cant turn your wheel any more) but regardless, check your power steering fluid level just to be sure.

If it starts happening further away from a full turn you may have a leak.

mleskovar

You're experiencing the common symptom of a slipping belt. Remove your serpentine belt (very easy), check it for cracks or shiny spots and check all the pulleys for ease of turning and bearing wear to make sure it's not something over taxing the belt.

03MBC320

thanks for the info, gonna check both the steering fluid and belts/pulleys tomorrow.
now, this is pretty embarrassing, but basically, i'm useless under the hood :. Want to make sure i know a few things before trying this. The serpentine belt is the largest/main belt? how do i go about removing it without causing any damage to anything, and to check the pulleys do i just spin them freely? just nervous that i'll cause more damage than i'd be trying to fix...

samaritrey

Do you have a friend that knows something about cars? If not see if you can find a shop that will let you watch and learn how to do stuff like that you don't want to break something.

mleskovar

You and most of the people who drive cars Nothing to be embarrassed about. It's great that you are willing to try.

Yes, and it's the only belt on your engine. Take a picture of it before you remove it if you're not sure. There should be a sticker under the hood of the belt path. One of the pulleys is an idler pulley that is on a spring loaded arm that you can pull away from the belt to release tension then slip the belt off one of the pulleys...like the water pump (smooth one, no grooves, upper left hand corner of the belt path as you face the motor).

Pretty much. Rotate them in the direction they normally spin. Rock them on their shafts as well to check the bearings. There should be very little play. If you don't feel confident someone that's even mildly mechanically minded can help you

03MBC320

thanks for all the info guys, i'm gonna check the power steering fluid and if its not that then i'll take the car into Euro Image monday morning and have them check out the pulleys and belt, they like me (they better considering i dropped about 2k there in a month and a half), so hopefully they'll be cool with letting me watch.. i asked them last time and they said no because of "insurance issues" but maybe i'll tell them thats bogus and if they don't let me watch what they do to my car i'll find somewhere else to take it, or write a make-shift waiver saying they're not liable for any injuries i incur while watching lol.
thanks for all the info and help though guys

p.s., only friend i have who knows something about cars i think just talks outta his a$$ to try to sound macho, he's got a wrangler that breaks down every 2 weeks, so i dont trust him to go near my car!