Auxillary belt failed: power steering pump at fault?

Rob Bell · 2nd July 2012, 09:02

Hi chaps,

Our '03 ZTT 2.0CDTi is currently looking extremely sorry for itself (with my wife now threatening to set fire to it). The auxillary belt snapped on Saturday, in heavy traffic on the M25

The power steering pump has been a bit noisy recently - and I've had to top up the level of the hydraulic fluid a couple of times over the last 4-6 weelks. I've not yet done a thorough inspection, but there is fluid residue over the alternator, and I suspect that some fluid will have landed on the belt itself before it failed.

The pump turns over. The AA patrol man reckoned that it was a bit stiff. He may be right, but I've had so little need to look at power steering pumps in the past, I don't actually know how easy these things should be to turn!!!

The working diagnosis is that the pump has been failing/ seizing. There is some tell-tale of rubber on the pulley to perhaps suggest that the belt was over-heating and sticking to the pump drive wheel. I managed to recover the remanent of the belt: 3/4 of it has disappeared, leaving a very narrow belt with a frayed edge: it appears to have walked off the pulley.

So, putting out to all the gurus here, what do we think is the chance that the pump is indeed on its way out and needs replacing?

How easy/difficult is it to change the pump on a DIY basis?

New pumps are not available from X-Part by the looks of things, and second hand replacements appear to come in at around the £30 mark (suggesting to me that these things don't frequently fail, otherwise they'd be costing a lot, lot more).

Help - I'd really rather not sell this car on, but the other half has lost all confidence in it

2nd July 2012, 09:02	#1
Rob Bell Gets stuck in ZT-T CDTi + Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London Posts: 561 Thanks: 7 Thanked 10 Times in 7 Posts	Auxillary belt failed: power steering pump at fault? Hi chaps, Our '03 ZTT 2.0CDTi is currently looking extremely sorry for itself (with my wife now threatening to set fire to it). The auxillary belt snapped on Saturday, in heavy traffic on the M25 The power steering pump has been a bit noisy recently - and I've had to top up the level of the hydraulic fluid a couple of times over the last 4-6 weelks. I've not yet done a thorough inspection, but there is fluid residue over the alternator, and I suspect that some fluid will have landed on the belt itself before it failed. The pump turns over. The AA patrol man reckoned that it was a bit stiff. He may be right, but I've had so little need to look at power steering pumps in the past, I don't actually know how easy these things should be to turn!!! The working diagnosis is that the pump has been failing/ seizing. There is some tell-tale of rubber on the pulley to perhaps suggest that the belt was over-heating and sticking to the pump drive wheel. I managed to recover the remanent of the belt: 3/4 of it has disappeared, leaving a very narrow belt with a frayed edge: it appears to have walked off the pulley. So, putting out to all the gurus here, what do we think is the chance that the pump is indeed on its way out and needs replacing? How easy/difficult is it to change the pump on a DIY basis? New pumps are not available from X-Part by the looks of things, and second hand replacements appear to come in at around the £30 mark (suggesting to me that these things don't frequently fail, otherwise they'd be costing a lot, lot more). Help - I'd really rather not sell this car on, but the other half has lost all confidence in it