Power steering suddenly went out while driving

Check to see if your serpentine belt is still on the pulleys. No belt,,no power steering and no alternator. You are probably driving on the battery only.

You haven't flooded the engine correct, check the spark plugs. Also, how fresh is the gas? Try shaking the car to get the gas mixed up and try cleaning out the cylinders with a torch to blow out excess gas. You should also either try cleaning the spark plugs or replace them if they look bad. It is starting up fine, correct? The alternator is good, right? I believe it is since it sounds like you didn't drive it long enough to drain the battery but check it anyway. By losing power, did the electronics start shutting off first or did the engine die first as this would show whether the alternator is bad or not. Please answer my questions and get back to me on what shut off first when it died and I will help you narrow down the problem with this car.

good luck

yes you will need to replace the belt before you drive anywhere.

Did you check the serpentine belt to see if it was broken?

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_d728a59f986299fa

If the belt gets wet and flies off, or starts to slip, the power steering and alternator will stop spinning causing this condition.

Check belts to see if they are still on the truck and spinning the pulleys of the alternator and power steering pump.

the crank pulleys (also called a harmonic dampener) on these vehicle are a fairly common failure. as they begin to break apart, the pulley will begin to have a wobble as the engine runs, causing the drive belts that power your alternator, power steering, etc to loosen off. when the belts then get wet, combined with being loose, they will slip, causing your accessories not to work. hope this was helpful!

That's caused by the water getting on the P/S drivebelt allowing it to slip till it dries off. If the shields are in place under the front of the engine, then the only thing you can do is to avoid deep water or be ready for the hard steering when you must go through water. It happens to some extent on just about every car.

1) Start with the alternator.
2) Forward to the smooth idler
3) Forward to power steering
4) Down to A/C compressor
5) Back to crank pulley
6) Forward around tensioner
7) Back glancing off of water pump
8) Back glancing off of ribbed idler
9) Up around alternator (where you started)
Good luck!

sure the hose could be leaking, these are the kind of problems that arise in the auotmotive feild of repairs. take a can of brake clean mabey two and clean the area of good , let it run to find your leak rember make sure the fluid is full and overfluid good luck kdc744

1998 ford escort sport engine started making a tapping noise and engine light started flashing. Had oil and water at normal level.
Car has 110,000 miles. Been serviced regularly!