Noodleman wrote:
OK! found out, using some grease cutter and a LOT of rags, I have a Dodge 440 with a Thermoquad(sp?) carburator. The carb is the shiniest thing on the engine. Deal for purchase included getting it smogged. rebuilt the carb. I crawled around underneath looking at things, no leaks to speak of. did notice as I was driving it home that when i dropped it into low it complained in a high pitched SQUEAL. I thought it was the fan belts, but they look fairly new.
The belts still could be loose. (I've found that new belts, especially less expensive ones, sometimes stretch, requiring a retightening shortly after installation.)
That 440 puts out a lot of umph and those bigger tires put a lot of strain on the power steering pump. It's easy for the pump to generate enough resistance to cause the belt to slip in the pulley, especially if the pump is low on fluid.
1. Make sure the power steering pump is full.
2. Make sure the belts are tight.
3. Turn off the dash air conditioning.
4. Turn off everything electrical that you can safely.
5. Make sure the squealing is coming from the front of the engine. (Most likely is but it doesn't hurt to make sure.)
6. Try a better grade of belts.
If none of this works, you may have a more serious problem.
