Power Steering reservoir leaking and dripping on Serpentine Belt, possible cause of loose belt movement (has come off once already). Wobble of A/C Pulley, resulting in A/C not cooling.

I can answer some of your questions without being there in person.
The smell inside the van is from fresh air entering the venting system. Not sure why you don't get it from all vents. The fresh air intake is in front of the windshield and will pick up any smells from the engine compartment.
Loosing the serpentine belt would not necessarily cause you to loose ps fluid, but having a leak could drain the pump and damage the bearings in the pump, causing the pump pulley to drag on the belt.
The ps pump could be in the final stage of failing.
And the shaft seal in the pump could be leaking fluid onto the engine and exhaust.

They do not stretch that much. That engine uses a serpentine belt. Something has gone bad that caused the belt to come loose. All pulleys must be inspected to diagnose the problem.

Hi,
I assume you mean you have replaced the serpentine drive belt before? When your belt comes off, it is not operating your water pump and alternator or power steering pump, giving you the overheat and dead battery. Shouldnt make power steering fluid leak though. Does the power steering fluid leak all the time, or just when the belt comes off? If it leaks all the time from the pump area, you could have a bad seal and bearing in the pump causing the pulley to wobble and that makes the belt walk off. First, locate the belt routing diagram on the engine cowl (front of vehicle under the hood) or make a drawing of how the belt is routed for re-assembly use. Loosen belt tension at tensioner and take belt loose from a pulley that is easily accessed. Use your hands to wiggle all your pulleys and feel for excessive play in any of them or the components themselves. (water pump, power steering pump,A/C compressor and alternator.) If component play, you could have loose bolts causing wobble. If pulley play, could be bad bearing in component which would need replaced. Pay special attention to excess movement in the tensioner pulley itself. Also visually check for sideways alignment of pulleys. If pulleys are not aligned correctly, it will make the belt walk off also. That is usually a bracket misaligned or bolt holes in bracket worn out. If all checks good, I would suspect a worn out belt or belt tensioner that is not holding enough / proper tesion on belt allowing it to walk off. It will take you about an hour to check these things, repair costs depend on what you discover as a potential problem,as components can be costly.
Let us know what you find......Thanks, Mike

There are several possible causes, varying in severity, that could be responsible:

• Lack of power steering fluid
• Bad or worn serpentine belt - would slip when turning causing a squeal and/or difficulty steering
• Bad wheel bearings - this would cause the wheel to wobble, and squeal on turns
• Bad ball joint(s)
• Bad steering box

separate problems--coolant should not cause belt to come off. Check all pulleys for wobble/looseness.
For overheating, check for leaks, replace thermostat, flush radiator. If these do not work, possible blown head gasket or cracked head.

the serp belt is driven by the crankshaft pully and also has a tensioner may i suggest you check the crank pully it mayhave parted at the rubber damper and is spinning off line/back and forth also check the tensioner that runs on belt it may have failed or come loose

My friend;
Try this;

1. Check the belt pulley may have attaching tension bolts (Nuts), etc.
2. Loose the belt pulley attaching tension bolts (Nuts), etc.
3. Normally there are three bolts & or nuts u need to loose to allow u swivel the pulley side way.
4. Once loose, swivel the pulley side way.
5. Mostly, you don't have to remove the bolts & or nuts completely.
6. You may need to remove other serpentine belt to reach the power steering belt.
7. Removing those other belts work same as the power steering belts or other belts.

See those videos;
Playlist Results for How do I change the serpentine belt of power steering ?

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=How+do+I+change+the+serpentine+belt+of+power+steering+%3F&search_type=&aq=f

Try it, & PLZ; let me know if I add any benefits to you.
I hope I add some thing valuable to you.
Regards;

MAR;
[email protected]

Sounds like your serpentine belt. I would check the condition of your belt on the engine. It is possible that you could also have power steering pump issues. Check belt condition first, Second if the belt is not glazed and looks ok remove the belt and check movement on power steering pump pulley to see what what type of resistence is presen while turning pulley. If so, pump should be replaced. This could be causing belt to slip and make the squeeling that you are hearing. If no resistence on pump replace belt and varify repair. Good luck.....

HI. You power steering fluid level may be low at this point, a quick inspection of the fluid level, will be in order, if possible. Once you have verified that the fluid level is sufficient, move on to the actual power steering belt and unit. Make sure the belt is tight, and rotating the pulley. If the fluid level is low, be sure to fill to specifications.

Now, If the pulley and belt are rotating without a wobble, and the fluid level is sufficient, this will lead to a failed pump. The pump should be replaced in this case. Make sure you exhaust all inspections points mentioned before replacing the pump.

CHECK LIST

1. Check the power steering pump hoses for leaks
2. Check the power steering pump pulley for lose fit or wobble during rotation,
3. Check the power steering reservoir for proper level(add if needed)
4. Check the power steering drive belt for the proper tension.

Find the leak and repair it...It is a sealed system, if you are adding large amounts of power steering fluid, it is leaking out somewhere. Hoses, reservoir, steering box, power steering pump are places to check. You should only have to add minimal fluid to the system for the entire year.

The immediate squeal you hear is most probably the unit is out of fluid or has leaked onto the serpentine belt and causing it to slip.
Fix the leak and check your serpentine belt for wear.