Car steering wheel hard to turn engine overheats and battery light comes on

Question

about three hours ago i went out and as i was coming home my steering whell stopped turning right. every time i would try to make a turn it would feel like i was sitting parked and trying to turn. then the battery light came on and the engine gauge went into full overheating. i checked the steering fluid and it is fine and i also checked the belt and it looked fine..(ps im not a mechanic) but then after i let it sit for a while i noticed that the steering fluid was dripping out. what all should i do short of going to the mechanic...im heading to college tomorrow and have only gas money

Answer 1

You might need a new belt it could be slipping. Look for cracks in it. A belt is only 10 or 15 dollars and the installation is fairly simple.

Answer 2

You can't go to college with only gas money - you know that.  The incidentals will run into the $$thousands before long.

But anyway, there's this belt, you know, that turns the power steering pump, runs the coolant pump, and generates electricity.  If all those things quit working together, obviously that's where the problem lies.  The root of it may be that power steering leak. The belt may be oily and very slippery.  I would have guessed the belt came completely off, but if  belt looks okay, then maybe it's not turning, or it may be slipping.

I fixed a car one time that had the belts on it, but they weren't turning.  All 4 bolts had fallen out of the crank pulley, but the pulley didn't come off.  It stayed in place on the balancer hub, but just didn't turn.

Answer 3

Sounds like the power steering fluid is leaking (or spraying) onto the serpentine belt, causing it to slip rather efficiently.  Where the leak is, I cannot say, but I suspect the high pressure hose has blown, and it is spraying onto the belt, causing slippage.  You said the belt was not broken, so this is my conclusion based on that.  

Ah.....so the belt IS broken!   You (of course) need a belt installed to fix it.  Spin the other pulleys by hand to check to see if anything locked up and killed the belt.  You shouldn't be able to turn the big one at the bottom that was previously moving on its own.  If nothing looked broken......then all you need is a new belt, and nothing else.

  The magic wand was sent out for repairs.....it stopped working years ago for me.  The damned thing still doesn't work.  Stupid wizards!

Answer 4

you need to replace the belt or find out what has locked up causing this too happen to it,good luck.

Answer 5

i be live you need to change the steering pump,the belt turning ,but its hard to turn and its putting a strain on your moter,making it run hot, its leaking fluit,the pump is bad ,change it,i will solve the problem i belive,  good luck    

Answer 6

you check and see if you have a belt is what it sounds like its broke

Answer 7

check the tension on your belt...you may have busted the tensioner...

Open your hood and then turn the car on....take a look see if the belt is turning or broken.

Good luck!