NEED HELP Power steering pump squeak

selectah77

Original poster
Member
Feb 22, 2016
21
Bloomington, Minnesota
Hello Nation,

I am helping a friend make some repairs on an '02 Chevy Trailblazer LT 4.2I6 and while the major noises (tensioner and idler pulley both bad) have been fixed, there is a squeak coming from the vicinity of the power steering pump. I've done the test of removing the belt and running the engine - that is how I determined the tensioner/idler pulleys were bad - spun the alternator, fan clutch and power steering pump. Put the belt on and the squeak comes back and happens every other revolution. Belt is only about a year old per owner's estimation. I noticed that the pump spins easily at first by hand but becomes increasingly "stiffer" as you continue turning it. Is there any sure-fire way to tell the pump is bad? Other than no power steering of course?

Incidentals:
'02 Chevy Trailblazer LT 4.2I6
Mileage: 172k
New alt, tensioner arm, idler pulley, fan clutch, steering rack

Much appreciated

-J
 

Mooseman

Moderator
Dec 4, 2011
25,257
Ottawa, ON
When the pump is going bad, it just groans all the time and the noise increases when you turn the wheel. Belt squeak could be a bad belt or pulley misalignment. It is possible that with the bad pulley, the belt wore unevenly and causing the noise.

This video by ChrisFix is very good at pinpointing belt noise:
 

Forum Statistics

Threads
23,272
Posts
637,482
Members
18,472
Latest member
MissCrutcher

Members Online