97 lumina 3.1 belt problem

Problem is whenever i drive through a puddle of water steering wheel becomes very hard to turn and the volt light comes on the steering becomes hard to turn normally i pull over turn car off and on again and it gets my steering back a little faster. I believe this may have started last year when alternator went bad when changing alternator noticed the belt tentioner was cracked so went back to autozone and replaced that so on the car is a new alternator, Belt tentioner and i changed the belt too but what do you guys think might be causing my issue?

Problem is whenever i drive through a puddle of water steering wheel becomes very hard to turn and the volt light comes on the steering becomes hard to turn normally i pull over turn car off and on again and it gets my steering back a little faster. I believe this may have started last year when alternator went bad when changing alternator noticed the belt tentioner was cracked so went back to autozone and replaced that so on the car is a new alternator, Belt tentioner and i changed the belt too but what do you guys think might be causing my issue?

Power steering is 100% mechanical. Electricity has nothing to do with it. If the rpm's get near zero (motor off), only then will steering get hard.

If the rpm's get near zero (motor off), the battery light will start to light up.

Question is, what is making the motor die out when you go through a puddle?

How much puddle you talkin' about?

Is your front air dam messed up and making water go up near the air intake somewhere? Or is the tune just not good? How does it idle when warmed up?

Are you sure the tensioner is in the correct position? It has a notch that fits in a hole to index it.

Are you sure you have the right belt? If its too long the tensioner may not be able to put enough force on it.

Are all the splash shields in place on that side of the engine. You souldn't be able to see the belt from under or that side of the vehicle.

tensioner is in correct position index hole is in correct position Double checked belt is correct.

When i drive through puddle i lose power steering for about 15 seconds then it comes back this is due to belt slippage. When i look under car there is a little void where the Ac compressor is but it dosn't look like there is suppose to be a cover there. Also i forgot to mention that in around july i had the ac compressor replaced so i am thinking that the new ac compressor might be causing this because when i pour water directly on compressor pulley i lose P/S. The compressor is right above the void under the car so it is easy for it to get wet any thoughts?

Yesterday took some water and poured on belt while it was running and then tried to turn steering wheel and experienced the same problem wheel was very tight for like 15 seconds but then it came back what course of action do you guys recommond should i change out tensioner i called autozone today i bought it in july last year so my warrenty is up on it.

A/C compressor probably has the wrong pulley on it-- it may be a mistake- where the pulley is too small- makes belt tension too loose- I have seen just the opposite- an a/c compressor with a pulley that is too big- belt would not go on- so double check the a/c pulley size against an OEM compressor..or your old one - if it is still around...I have also seen bum tensioners- that are not as stiff as the OEMs..

What brand of belts/tensioners does AutoZone carry? It sounds like a bad/incorrect belt to me.

The correct Goodyear numbers for your car are:

Belt: 4060695
tensioner: 49205

Let me know what brand they carry and I can cross-reference their numbers to be sure you got the correct parts (the same part numbers apply to 96-99 Luminas with the 3.1) even though you said you double checked.

Assuming the parts are correct, you could have a wrong compressor as stated above that has a smaller diameter pulley causing the belt to be too long. On the belt tensioner, their should be an indicator showing if the belt is in an acceptable range. The tensioner arm should have a notch or pointer on it and the body of the tensioner should have a range indicator that the notch should fall in if the belt is the correct length. You may need to get a belt a little shorter than the car calls for if that is the case.

As far as pulleys go for size, there are two different alternators for that vehicle with different size pulleys. The 105 amp has a smaller pulley than the 100 amp does requiring a different size belt. Do not rule out the possibility that the mfgr. may have put the wrong part in the box.

Actually, the 100a and 105a alternators for that particular year are externally identical. Both AC-Delco and the aftermarket have merged the two part numbers and are only offering the 105a version after stock is depleted on the 100a. I still believe the OP has either a bad new tensioner or wrong belt.

Even on the '97, you still have to know which alt. you have in order to get the correct belt. If parts store doesn't ask, they are lax in their job. From the first one (appx. '98) to the latest one (last week), even the GM dealer asks which alt. if you don't have the old belt with a number on it.