Has anyone run into this issue, I’ve owed my 1969 Firebird for over 50 years, it always had a power steering pump squeal but over time has gotten worse and normally it’s mostly when turning to the right, especially when moving slowly. Fluid level is fine, tires r @ 35psi. Thanks for any help
Your question is a little hard to discern based on the wording and me not knowing your mechanical aptitude so I will try to cover all the bases. 1st as Dr. drivability said would be the power steering belt which can squeal when turning from side to side but not usually just one side, also happens at startup and when revving the engine. It usually gets quieter as the belt warms up. Tension is the first thing to check but if that is ok it could be because the belt is glazed or worn and sunk to far down in the pulley causing lack of grip. The easiest way to check for belt noises that aren't obvious is to to take a can of spray silicone and spray the belt while the engine is running being careful to not get it on the other belts to isolate the problem. the second squealing you could be hearing is from the tires which could be caused by tire pressure like you said or front end alignment issues. if its usually just one side it's caused from the camber being out from either hitting a large hole or curb or worn ball joints or control arm bushings. When the tires squeal both ways that's a toe out condition it is usually caused by loose tie rod ends. The third way your steering could make a squealing noise is from the power steering pump itself. to hear this just turn the steering wheel al the way to one side or the other while in park, if this is what you are hearing the most common cause is a slow leak causing low fluid level. make sure if you fill it you notice that there are hot and cold fill lines on the stick. this is to allow for expansion of the fluid when hot. you can use plain old dexron atf to fill. if full but definitely the pump it could be on it's way out. Make sure you check the belt first as it can make noise under all three of the tests or circumstances above. Please check back and let us and future readers of this post know what you find.
Barn bird , All good points, I should also have mentioned all new belts and completely replaced all ball joints, tie rod ends and had a front end alignment. I did all this because the steering seemed to drift both to the right and left , more noticeable at 40-60 mph. This work did not help the steering drift. Also never affected the pump noise. The squealing is from the pump as I stated and fluid level is right on the full mark. New tires may have 1500 miles on them. Steering box was checked during alignment and was tight, no slop. U r right on turning steering fully right or left for the squealing . A that’s just what it sounds like only it’s not fully turned. It’ll squeal from straight forward to fully turned right
I understand better now. While I am leaning towards a pump issue for the noise, binding in the steering could also cause it. You mentioned the box was checked and tight but that is what could actually be causing It and also might be responsible for your drift because it is happening both to the right and left. what I have seen happen in the past is a box gets tight by internal problems or most times someone over adjusting the jam nut adjuster to tight trying to remove slop from the steering causing a vague feeling when the wheel is straight ahead and it is hard to keep it on center and feels like it wants to follow every road irregularity also. being to tight is hard to feel because our systems are so over assisted. These symptoms could also be caused by alignment problems loose front end parts and tires but it sounds like you addressed all those issues and the 2 problems remain. But if the drift happened after the new tires rotating front to back as suggested is the easiest way to diagnose if the tires are responsible. If your box is to tight adjust it to the factory specs outlined in the manual it needs to have some play. If none of these things are responsible for the vague drifting steering 2 other things come to mind the first is the front and rear curb heights if your front end is to high verses the rear it would give you that symptom because it throws of your caster angle. second did you install after market disc brakes ? some times the tie rod mounting location on the knuckle is to high or low, the tie rods should be on a fairly straight plain right to left. If there is to extreme of an angle either way it will give you drift as well as bump steer. Lastly unfortunately it can be really hard to get a proper full alignment these days because it's so much easier with most modern cars. I have a friend locally That ended up having to have his redone 4 times because of incompetence. I would always suggest anyone ask for a before and after alignment printout to compare.