93 civic ex high pitch squeal when I start it up

[jiloasis74]

My car has a super high pitch squeal every time I start it up. after a few seconds it stops. If I revv it up it the squeal stops faster. A few years ago I was in a wreck and my power steering container cracked, I had that replaced. Since then there has been a constant dampness of fluid/oil on the nearby belt. Ive been told the squeal is due to the oil/fluid wetting the belt, and that I should replace the power steering pump. Does this sound right? I dont drive that much maybe 1500/2000 miles a month and there always seems to be power-steering fluid in the container, not all the way full but definitely not near empty/dry. Please any help would be grateful. I really want this embarrassing squeal to go away, as sometimes when I'm driving I hear it.

[CivicSpoon]

Make sure it's actually the power steering pump, and not one of the lines. If it is indeed the pump, you have a few options. One is getting a new pump from an auto parts store, which is certainly going to be less expensive than a new one from the dealership. Or if you're mechanically inclined, you could buy a rebuild kit, and replace the seals in your existing one. That option would probably be cheaper than getting a new one, or more costly if you don't know what you're doing and screw it up Another option would be to go to a local auto yard and pull a used one.

You might also want to consider buying some belt dressing and spray the other belt down, when you're done, to see if that helps get rid of the noise. Or if it's really bad, replace the belt (alternator belt I'm assuming).

[jiloasis74]

i had my mechanic take a look at it. For the life of him, he says he cant find where its leaking from. He sprayed it down with some engine cleaner, used the whole can. keep saying it was the hoses but thats not it. he didn't look underneath the car.

I must say that a few years ago, I was in a minor wreck that caused minimal frame damage on the front driver side. The power steering well, cracked and all the fluid leaked out. I got a used well/reservoir and had some guy from the salvage yard put it on. Couple of years after that, one of my belts around taht same power steering area snapped and got caught with another belt, I had to have my crankshaft pulley replaced (not to mechanically apt on this but It was a very intensely long job. the mechanic worked on it for hours) every since then I heard a mild high pitch squeal, at first it was very low. Its been a few years since then, and the squeal has got worse/louder. The inside roof of my hood seems to have power-steering fluid right about the belts/reservoir area.
Where can this leak becoming from?