Hi All,
I have a 2001 sebring convt and have been having an issue with it over the last few weeks. About two weeks ago (on a mild ne day, temp was about mid 40) I went to leave work and as I began to pull out of my parking stop, my steering wheel was extremely tight! In my first attempt to turn it I could (with a decent amount of force) only turn it about an inch to the left, as I turned the wheel their was a loud squealing noise, once I let go of the wheel the noise stopped. I attempted to turn the wheel the the right, same result... after a few try of moving the wheel side to side (every turn of the wheel resulted in the loud squeal) I let my car sit for a few minutes before touching the wheel. Once the car was warm I was finally able to turn the wheel enough (using two hands) for me to get out of my parking spot and drive home. I had my mechanic look at it and he could not find any problems, the power steering fuel was fine, no leaks and the pump was operational. During the visit to the shop I did find out that my water outlet housing (thanks to this forum, it was not my thermostat outlet housing!) had a leak, so the trip was kinda worth it. Earlier today I was making a very tight turn and my wheel was as far to the left as I could turn it, again I heard that loud squealing noise, and after I made the turn their was the smell of burnt rubber in the air. Does anyone know what could be causing this?! That fact that it might have something to do with my steering concerns me (just a little). Any help some one could send my way I would appreciate it!!!!! Thank you!

 

The squealing is the belt slipping. Try replacing that. Maybe there was something stuck in your steering knuckle or something before. Are the ball joints stiff?

 

thats what i would try,just like Cman said.belt.

 

THANKS GUYS, i was guessing the belt was making the noise but was not positive, i will looking into getting it replaced. As for the ball joints, my friend's husband drove my car a few months ago and mentioned something about the ball joints, if their is something wrong with the ball joints would you suggest a professional take care of them or is it something that could be a weekend project.

Thanks again!

 

Just wondering if you replaced the belt and if that fixed the problem?

I have the same issue. If the car is warm I hear no squealing unless turning the wheel as far as possible to either side. If it is cold, I get the squealing and the wheel is tight at basically any movement. HELP!

Thanks!

 

The most common cause of squealing will be a loose or worn belt. Visually check the belts at the passenger side of the engine. Look for a glazed appearance on the underside of the belt where it contacts the pulleys. If it feels loose, that's another sign. It's a relatively inexpensive repair especially compared to ball joints, and likely to solve the problem. If you don't feel confident doing it yourself, you can get it done for a reasonable sum.

 

I thought it was a belt but never knew where it is. In my experience, that is what these squealing noises are. Should the fact that once the car is warmed up it doesn't squeal re-ensure that it IS in fact the belt. Once the car is warm, it only squeals when I turn the wheel completely to the right or left. When it starts squealing, the wheel kind of gets tough and fights back to go in the other direction.

Assuming it is a belt, I'm not even sure what belt this is. The only belt I can physically see is the serpentine belt. I'm guessing maybe it is under the PS pump and I'll have to jack the vehicle up? Also, how big should this belt be and I'm assuming it wraps around the bottom of the PS pump?

 

There's a separate belt for the power steering, but to get to it, you'll need to remove the serpentine belt. To do this, jack up the car and support the right front properly on a jack stand. Don't rely on the jack. Remove the right front wheel, and then remove the splash shield under the fender. For the most part, it's held in place with push pins. Grab the center part of the push pin and pull straight out enough to allow you to pull the whole thing out. Once you've pulled one out you can see how they work.
With the splash shield out, you can get to the belts. Since you've got to remove the serpentine belt also, you might as well replace it at the same time. It's probably due.

 

A few months ago, I had the belt problem as well (though mine was more of a chirp). I decided to change both belts. It was a bit of a hassle, as the parts stores gave me the wrong size belts twice. Finally got the right belts, installed them...and the problem returned (the belts kept loosening). Grrrr...

Finally, I decided to change the tensioner, too. That worked and it's been fine ever since, though for the life of me, I can't see any problem with the old tensioner. Maybe I hadn't been tightening the belts enough, maybe it was the tensioner, or maybe it's just magic.

Anyway, if you do this yourself, it's very cheap. I can't imagine that having a mechanic do it would be real expensive, either.