Damn truck is acting up again. I may not be able to get to a mechanic until monday, so can anyone give me an idea of what may be wrong with it until then (I’m more worried if it’ll cause any damage to drive it over the weekend).
It makes a squealing sound when you steer it. And the front shocks are totally worn. When you lean on the front corner (esp. the right corner) the car bounces too much and makes alot of squealing sounds, a car shouldn’t bounce that much and it shouldn’t make that sound when you do that. So I am 90% sure the shocks in the front need to be replaced. Could the shocks alone be causing this squealing when I steer, or is there a risk that something else is also wrong? Is driving with shitty shocks damaging to a car’s frame or anything like that?
The squealing during steering is usually due to loose or worn power steering pump belt(s). In some cars, there’s a bracket on the power steering pump that you loosen and then push on the pump to tighten the belt, then retighten the bracket. Other cars have a separate tensioning pulley. If the belt looks worn, replace it.
QED is right that it is probably the belt, but it also could be the power steering pump is starting to go south.
Probably the worst case is that your power steering goes out, and that’s not the end of the world. You’ll just have to muscle the steering wheel a bit to get it to turn. It’s also not likely to happen over the weekend.
The shocks aren’t going to cause any harm either, though I imagine the truck won’t handle very well if you do some aggressive manuevers.
You’re ok until Monday (IMHO) but you should get both problems fixed pretty soon.
Driving with bad shocks probably won’t damage anything but your tires, but even then probably not if you won’t be driving thousands of miles before getting them replaced.
I’ve never heard a shock squeal, only squeak. Are you hearing two different sounds when you steer and when you bounce the front end?
I’d replace all the shocks, front and rear. And check the belts.
Agreed. But they do make a spray on belt conditioner. It’s messy, but might be a quick temp fix. And, if it stops the squeling, thats a pretty good indication that it is the belt and not the pump itself.
If the squealing occurs only when the wheels are in the process of turning, it pretty much has to be something in the suspension or steering linkage. Ball joints and tie rod ends sometimes squeak, and if the front suspension is a strut design, it could be from the upper strut bearing plates.
If the squealing occurs when you’re pulling on the steering wheel, even if the wheels aren’t actually turning at the time (such as at or near a full turn position), the power steering pump or its belt would be the cause. Belt problems are much more common than pump problems. If the belt is loose, there’s some chance it might get derailed.
None of the above are likely to give further problems in the next few days. However, I knew someone years ago who drove a car with totally worn out shocks, and he lost control and hit a tree. Killed him. Be extra careful.
I use the belt conditioner occasionaly, and it’s good for tempory fixes as you said. I want Wesley Clark to know that when the repairs happen he should say replace not just tighten the belt.
Shocks that get too wore out will start bouncing with harmonics on roads until the front wheels lose contact with the road. Don’t wait to long to get them fixed.
I had to replace my front pads on the brakes recently due to a squealing sound that would only show up when you turned , there was a tab that ajutted from the pads to grind into the disc brake when the pads were getting too worn down.