Overheating and Tight Steering?

[realness]

Hi all,

On my way to work yesterday morning I noticed the temperature needle was starting to work its way past 12:00 (the middle). It’s always been directly on 12:00 (the middle) until yesterday. When I pulled into the parking lot to park and turn and back into a parking space the steering wheel all of a sudden got tight. The car was still on. I was able to back into the space but I had to use way more effort than usual. It wasn’t nice and smooth. I parked and popped the hood and the car was smoking and hissing antifreeze from the middle hose.

Please let me know what can be causing this overheating problem and tight steering issue. Is it the hose or thermostat or waterpump? This is the first time I am experiencing both of these issues.

Let me know if you need more clarification. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

[joshua43214]

You probably have a loose or broken belt. verify all the pulleys and driven components spin freely.

P.S. it may not be safe to drive if your driving more than a block or 2.

[realness]

You probably have a loose or broken belt. verify all the pulleys and driven components spin freely.

P.S. it may not be safe to drive if your driving more than a block or 2.


Thanks for your reply!

Are you referring to the fan belt?

[DaveVoorhis]

... When I pulled into the parking lot to park and turn and back into a parking space the steering wheel all of a sudden got tight. The car was still on. I was able to back into the space but I had to use way more effort than usual. It wasn’t nice and smooth. I parked and popped the hood and the car was smoking and hissing antifreeze from the middle hose.

At the very least, you've got a bad hose. Antifreeze should not hiss from it.

It's possible that coolant running onto a loose accessory belt caused it to slip and thus reduce the power steering effectiveness. However, it's more likely that the belt broke, taking out the water pump (hence overheating) and the power steering. This caused increased coolant pressure as it overheated, which popped an already dodgy hose.

Get your nose in there and poke around. The problem should be obvious.

[SchnellE34]

sounds similar to this:

http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=21234

[NovceGuru]

Hmmm..the m20 didn't have a serpentine belt, so it sounds like the best to the power steering and water pump broke. (Don't know if they're the same belt, quite a coincidence if they aren't)


NovceGuru