2001 Tahoe very hard to steer

[Pat]

Help. I was backing out of a parking spot when all of sudden I lost my power steering. It took all I had to get the wheel to turn back the other way. Can you loose your power steering pump that quick with no indications? Or do you think I broke something in the steering box? I was able to nurse it home but man was it hard to turn. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks.

 

[fatnlowtahoe504]

it could be the steering pump, but my steering when i turn the wheel right it has no power steering really when its at idle but when i turn it left its perfectly fine, i changed the steering pump recently and it made no difference once so ever, i hear its prob the steering box, hope that helps some

 

[yooformula]

could be what was posted...the steering box. Mine does the same thing but only at low speeds and with right turns. I was told it shouldnt get worse than what its doing now, so I just flushed the fluid and will get it swapped out within the month. If its making a noise all the time or when the wheel is turned in either direction, then from my experience its the pump itself. You could check your hoses for any leaks and check the fluid to see if its foamy or overfilled due to a possible leak in the ps cooler.

 

[Tribalbreak]

if you lost all power steering... check the easy shit first... did you loose your belt? did the pully fail? or did u bust a hose or break a fitting loosing all your fluid and thus your PS? if not that could be the pump or the box... was it whining or giving you a jumpy steering before? any signs anything was going bad?

 

[Pat]

Last night when this happened. I had no indications that anything was wrong. It hasn't whined, made any noises, nothing. It's always worked perfectly. Once I manuvered it out of my parking spot, I pulled under a street light and popped the hood. First thing I thought was that the belt broke. The belt is less then a year old though. The belt was fine. The fluid is up to level. No leaks. I'm going to jack up the front this morning and see how it steers with the weight off. Maybe I can tell if it's the gear or not. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[Pat]

I took it to the dealership this morning. It is the power steering pump. The reason it went so quick without any signs is because the pump shaft broke inside. The belt was still driving the pulley but nothing was being pumped. Never heard of that happening before but they say it's pretty common so beware. $350 to get it fixed. Oh well. Back on the road again.

 

[vdub77093]

hard steering

My 2001 Tahoe has hard steering with no whining. Heard a squeeking noise wondering if it could be the pulley. Can the power steering pump pulley make steering hard if its bad?

 

[SlowD]

Fords are notorious as well for Power steering pump shafts taking a shit.
Always interesting to see the pulley fall away from the pump with the shaft attached when you pull the belt off.
So yes I agree if you have no steering assist and no other obvious issues pop your serpentine belt off and see if the power steering pulley/shaft pulls out of the pump.