Power Steering Squeel

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danzey

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Danzey
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1986
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I recently updated my 86 k10 with the following:

Skyjacker single steering stabilizer
New Cardone power steering pump and pulley
New Gates Premium power steering belt
Borgeson Quick Turn steering gear
new pressure and return hoses
Jeep Steering shaft retro mod
Bled all air from the system - with new PS fluid

The truck drives like a new modern vehicle and I love the setup (wish I would have found the Borgeson early when working on my son's OBS truck)

3" lift 33" tires if it matters....

The issue:

When idling parked on either sand or pavement the power steering system squeels if you turn the wheel. It's fine when you are in motion, but squeels if you need to turn the wheels at a stop.

I feel that the belt is plenty tight - my only thought is if the pulleys aren't aligned very well or the water pump pulley is shot. What am I missing?
 
PrairieDrifter

PrairieDrifter

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danzey said:
I recently updated my 86 k10 with the following:

Skyjacker single steering stabilizer
New Cardone power steering pump and pulley
New Gates Premium power steering belt
Borgeson Quick Turn steering gear
new pressure and return hoses
Jeep Steering shaft retro mod
Bled all air from the system - with new PS fluid

The truck drives like a new modern vehicle and I love the setup (wish I would have found the Borgeson early when working on my son's OBS truck)

3" lift 33" tires if it matters....

The issue:

When idling parked on either sand or pavement the power steering system squeels if you turn the wheel. It's fine when you are in motion, but squeels if you need to turn the wheels at a stop.

I feel that the belt is plenty tight - my only thought is if the pulleys aren't aligned very well or the water pump pulley is shot. What am I missing?
Click to expand...
It's most likely the belt tension. So something in that system isn't happy.

I've daily driven on 33' and 35's in my burban for a long time now, haven't had an issue. Still original pulleys and power steering pump.
 
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Ricko1966

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One thing you are missing is the difference in torque multiplication from a quick ratio box to a standard box.The power steering pump has to work harder because the box is working harder. I'd make darn sure my pulleys were aligned,and sanded,so there is no glaze. Once you glaze the belt or the pulley you're going to keep fighting it. The water pump pulley is only an idler in the situation and will not create your squeal. It is either the driving pulley,or the driven pulley.If I put in a quick ratio box and bigger tires I'd do a frame reinforcement,regardless of if I had cracks.
 
fast 99

fast 99

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Is there any chance of pully mismatch?
 
PrairieDrifter

PrairieDrifter

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fast 99 said:
Is there any chance of pully mismatch?
Click to expand...
That shouldn't cause this. All that should do is cause the output to spin slower or faster. Technically it could cause a "performance" steering box to underperform but still shouldn't squeal the belt. Could be wrong though.
 
AuroraGirl

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PrairieDrifter said:
That shouldn't cause this. All that should do is cause the output to spin slower or faster. Technically it could cause a "performance" steering box to underperform but still shouldn't squeal the belt. Could be wrong though.
Click to expand...
only thing I could think is that if you used the wrong pulley slot on a ps pump with 2 or 3 grooves, the outer groove is usually for AC, and the pulley groove is a different size.
 
fast 99

fast 99

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PrairieDrifter said:
That shouldn't cause this. All that should do is cause the output to spin slower or faster. Technically it could cause a "performance" steering box to underperform but still shouldn't squeal the belt. Could be wrong though.
Click to expand...
Respectfully disagree, had that problem on one of my trucks. Drove me nuts until I figured it out. Water pump pully diameters were not matched to the crank pully. One belt had to always slip. Didn't manifest itself until the belt was put under a higher load, squealed.

It's actually quite easy to do if building up a truck with missing parts. There are quite a few pully design configurations.
 
PrairieDrifter

PrairieDrifter

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fast 99 said:
Respectfully disagree, had that problem on one of my trucks. Drove me nuts until I figured it out. Water pump pully diameters were not matched to the crank pully. One belt had to always slip. Didn't manifest itself until the belt was put under a higher load, squealed.

It's actually quite easy to do if building up a truck with missing parts. There are quite a few pully design configurations.
Click to expand...
Like I said, just in theory. I guess I should have said that mismatched pulleys shouldn't create a "binding" situation. Overdriven or underdriven for sure, which in turn could make a belt squeal depending on load of said output. But that's all it should do is change the rpm of said item.

There's way more pulley setups than people even realize lol
 
fast 99

fast 99

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PrairieDrifter said:
Like I said, just in theory. I guess I should have said that mismatched pulleys shouldn't create a "binding" situation. Overdriven or underdriven for sure, which in turn could make a belt squeal depending on load of said output. But that's all it should do is change the rpm of said item.

There's way more pulley setups than people even realize lol
Click to expand...
What I ran into [hindsight should have been quite obvious] was the water pump pully had 2 groves the same diameter, crank pully 2 groves of different diameters. Was off just enough that belt slipped without noise. When more drag was placed it was enough to create noise being as the belt was forced to slip somewhere. Didn't matter one bit how tight the belt was.

This truck started out as a partially disassembled pile and missing many engine parts. I grabbed a mess of pulleys and brackets at the local pick and pull without knowing where they came from. Just glad I didn't waste money on a pump or box before I figured it out.
 
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I had a similar problem on my k10 diesel when i got it. A PO had put a PS pump with an AC double pulley on it with a non AC crank pulley as the truck is non AC.. They require totally different belts with different angles. I was looking in Rockauto at specs for the pulleys and belts when I discovered the problem. Tightening the belt is not going to help. The pulleys and belts must match. AC or non AC.
 
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