A tad confused but need some feedback..thxs

I have a 96 Winnie with 3.8L.. about a week back I heard grinding sounds coming from the front left (serpentine belt area) engine compartment. I investigated while the vehicle was running but could not source the sound. The next day I had a loss of power steering and figured it was the PS pump. I was driving at the time towards a local C.Tire auto center and pulled in with a large billow of smoke coming from under the hood as well, I stopped the vehicle but also noted that the temp guage was in the red zone (no warning light). The serpentine belt had come off because the idler pulley bearings had given way. And, the power steering fluid had spewed out all over the top end of the motor, and antifreeze was dripping from under the vehicle as the overflow recovery tank had also overfilled. I let the vehicle cool with the hood up and purchased a new O.E. idler pulley and installed in the parking lot and pulled the tensioner (which I had replaced about 4 months back)with the serpentine belt and reconnected. Let the vehicle cool some more and restarted. Problem :> The vehicle "almost" overheats now and then goes back down to normal range and then back up again. With the blowers on in the vehicle and set to heat I only get cold air? I changed the thermostat assuming it was stuck open but it still has the same problem. ? Question is , could there be a blockage in the cooling system with the overheat condition I had? If so would a rad and cooling system flush at a local dealer do the trick? I did read that taking the hoses off at the fire wall and ? back flushing with a garden hose may dislodge ? And if so, how difficult is the job.. getting that *@&#@ thermostat off was a test in itself and the spark plug changing ..arghh.. Winstars!

I doubt that you have a blockage since it was cooling fine before the belt came off. Do you have any idea how hot it was? Because these engines have aluminum heads, you have to be concerned about head gaskets and warped heads if they are gotten very hot. Honestly, with the fluctuating temp reading on the gauge, it sounds like it is just low on coolant. I don't want to insult you but it can be very difficult to get all of the air out of the cooling system. When I fill a cooling system on a vehicle, I disconnect a the highest heater hose from the engine and hold the end of the hose up as high as possible while filling radiator. The rising coolant level pushes out most of the air out of the engine. This doesn't work using upper rad. hose because of the thermostat. Probably will need to plug opp. end where the heater hose connects. I also leave rad. cap or reservoir cap loose while running engine until thermostat opens up. I also rev up engine some to help it circulate and purge. Will probably need to top off sev. times and watch level closely.

bgriek

I was going to suggest air in the cooling system as well.

Did you ever find out why power steering fluid went spewing out (of the resevoir I presume)?

Looks as though it did clear itself after sitting overnight the coolant from the resevoir tank was drawn down to almost nil and I added two more liters<about 1/2 gallon for the US folks. The heaters working fine now and temp guage is good.. assumed it was the changing of the thermostat and the bending down and capturing some sort of air lock as mentioned from both you gents.. Working fine now.. TG as I am getting into my busy season and need the old girl. DRW 1000 I assume the Power Steering fluid came out because I was man handle steering the thing for about eight city blocks before I pulled into the service dept. parking lot and it overflowed? Unelievable how difficult it was to try to steer without power assist/power steering Wow!
Take care and thanks for the replies guys!

Hi,
My 96 with the 3.8L routes the power steering fluid through the radiator for cooling as well as the transmission fluid. I think the power steering fluid overheated due to lack of cooling or due to induced heat from the hot engine cooling system, and expanded (boiled?) to the point of over flow.

If your engine cooling and interior heating are working as advertised now, I would encourage you to flush the power steering fluid, and change the transmission fluid as they have both (most likely) been quite hot.

There are varying opinions on the best way to flush your radioator. Last time I had mine done at an oil change place. The good thing was, that it sucked out the old fluid under vacuum, and then refilled. As the air was out of the system it filled it totally, and then I just topped off the recovery tank once - it was only slightly low.

Hi,
My 96 with the 3.8L routes the power steering fluid through the radiator for cooling as well as the transmission fluid. I think the power steering fluid overheated due to lack of cooling or due to induced heat from the hot engine cooling system, and expanded (boiled?) to the point of over flow.

If your engine cooling and interior heating are working as advertised now, I would encourage you to flush the power steering fluid, and change the transmission fluid as they have both (most likely) been quite hot.

There are varying opinions on the best way to flush your radioator. Last time I had mine done at an oil change place. The good thing was, that it sucked out the old fluid under vacuum, and then refilled. As the air was out of the system it filled it totally, and then I just topped off the recovery tank once - it was only slightly low.

Just thinking out loud but if the steering fluid pump stopped operating when the belt came off (and it must have) would the fluid even need cooling?

Of course changing the fluid is a good idea in any event.

If i remember correctly the power steering system contains a relatively small amount of fluid (1 litre or so). This surprised me and now that you suggest it routes to the the rad makes the amount seem even more surprising.

On the '96 3.8L....the power steering cooler is in FRONT of the radiator....at the bottom.
If you do not have the "towing package", you will see a metal pipe that loops from one side to the other....and back again..... That is the power steering cooler.

On Towing package vehicles, you will have dual auxillary cooler.....with fins.
One side is the transmission fluid, and the other is power steering fluid.
The fluids don't mix.....it is just 2 separate coolers that are attached to each other.

The 1996 3.8L uses "Type F" Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF) for the power steering system. Do NOT use "power steering fluid" from the auto parts stores.

Manually steering will cause the power steering fluid to raise up high in the resevoir. This is why the "Full" marking is so far down in there...as when you turn the wheels in the driveway, without the engine running, the extra room in the resevoir is for the extra fluid that will be pushed up in there from the steering rack.

If the serpentine belt has become soaked with any of those fluids, I would recommend a NEW belt....as the old one can fail (I know this from personal experience). I had this happen, right in front of an Auto Zone store.

[QUOTE=wiswind]On the '96 3.8L....the power steering cooler is in FRONT of the radiator....at the bottom.
If you do not have the "towing package", you will see a metal pipe that loops from one side to the other....and back again..... That is the power steering cooler.

My bad. Thanks for the correction. I have a non-towing package setup.

You guys hit the nail on the head and the extra PS Type F fluid is from a deeper resevoir that overfilled and spewed out all over the top end of the engine as I had to man handle it for about 8 blocks before I stopped her at the service dept. The vehicle is a 96' "with" the trailer towing package/ consisting of heavy half shafts in the front,disc brakes in rear, pre wired for towing,full size spare, 90 litre tank at $1.04 cents a liter that costs about $100 CDN to fill grrr... anddddd the power steering and trany cooler in front of rad (lower) all for about $450 I believe extra when I bought it so I could tow a 17' fiberglass boat and now a business trailer with equipment in it.. Thanks for the info and a learning experience all the same and for all.. Don't buy another Winnie.. Thanks again all who have posted replies .. love the info feed back and have posted a few of my own horror stories and repair advices myself!Keep up the feedback because even us dummies whoi think we know something can learn alot from those who truly do!