Squeeling noise at idle when started

[kenc195]

1997 Passport V6 190,000 miles

I have been leaking a resevoir full of power steering fluid every month or so for the past 3 months. I live in Arizona and it is too darn hot to work on anything outside untill October so I have been putting off investigating the cause hoping to make it to then?

However, last week I started to hear a squeel from under the hood after starting and only at idle speed. Slightly reving kills the noise and after about 10 minutes run time, the noise stops altogether.

The 2 problems may or may not have anything to do with eatch other but....

any ideas?

[Canucklehead]

Originally Posted by kenc195

1997 Passport V6 190,000 miles

I have been leaking a resevoir full of power steering fluid every month or so for the past 3 months. I live in Arizona and it is too darn hot to work on anything outside untill October so I have been putting off investigating the cause hoping to make it to then?

However, last week I started to hear a squeel from under the hood after starting and only at idle speed. Slightly reving kills the noise and after about 10 minutes run time, the noise stops altogether.

The 2 problems may or may not have anything to do with eatch other but....

any ideas?

Check the voltmeter on your instrument cluster when you hear the squealing sound. If it jumps up to ~14V when the noise stops you need to tighten your alternator belt.

[trooperbc]

also, does your power steering pump sit right above your alternator like on my 1992 trooper? if so, that steering pump leak will drip down into the valley of the alternator bracket and when the little lake gets full it drips down onto the alternator and ends up frying it. if this is your setup, you can avoid that disaster until october by bunching some papertowels into that bracket lake area and replace them every day or two when they are sopping with nice pink atf. it will save your alternator, and this may be causing your noise instead of, or in addition to, the belt.

//bc

[Gizmo42]

Dont the alternator and power steering use different belts on a '97?

Might need a new power steering belt. They can start squeeking when they get old and start to dry out.

My power steering leak was from where the larger hose from the reservoir attached to the pump. The o-ring under the part the hose attaches to started leaking. A new o-ring and all was good.

[kenc195]

Thanks for the quick rsponses.
Alternator has shown no sign of voltage increases. At one point I thought I had fried the alt bearings.

The Alternator and power steering pumps are on oposite sides of the engine so I don't think fluid is dripping onto the alternator

The 2 do not share a belt but the AC belt is right beneath the power steering pump. If the pump is the cause of the leaking and it is dripping onto the AC belt (AC is always on max here it was 107 at midnight last night). I will try turning off and on the next time it is happening.