One problem fixed and another sprang up

As a disclaimer, neither me or my husband are completely car savvy, just enough to get us by.

Anyway, so I have a 2001 Subaru Legacy. Today the steering started squealing and becoming underpowered at low speeds/at a stopped position like when trying to park. My boss had a look at it and found that the bolt that locks the tensioner in to the alternator (not the long bolt but the short one) was totally missing, and was causing that belt to be loose, hence the squealing. I went to a Subaru dealer in town and while they didn't have the specific bolt, they gave me one that would work all the same. My husband just put the bolt in, following a tutorial showing how tight things should be, and fixed the squealing and all that, which is great! But now my power steering pump is super loud, the fluid is a little frothy, and when turning the wheel hard there's a pretty spooky rumbling and even scraping sort of sound. None of this was like that before replacing that bolt and honestly to begin with this all happened in one day, with the exception of some squealing it would get for a second or two when backing out of my driveway in the mornings. Help

Make sure the tension is not so high that the belt rubs against the top.

Make sure the adjuster is orientated correctly. The pointed end should face to the right.

Froth means there's air in the system. Leave the top off and turn the wheel lock to lock.

Add fluid as needed and turn again.

The squealing and froth should stop when the air gets out.

Also make sure the little cover is not being hit.

And welcome.

 

O.

Make sure the tension is not so high that the belt rubs against the top.

Make sure the adjuster is orientated correctly. The pointed end should face to the right.

Froth means there's air in the system. Leave the top off and turn the wheel lock to lock.

Add fluid as needed and turn again.

The squealing and froth should stop when the air gets out.

Also make sure the little cover is not being hit.

And welcome.

 

O.

Thanks so much for the help! We checked everything and now we're going through trying to work the air out of the pump. It bubbled over a bit, is that what happens when the air is trying to work out of the lines?

Yes.

Just keep turning it lock to lock.

The level will be good for operation, until the frothing subsides a lot don't add unless the level gets real low.

 

O.

Title sounds like a typical subaru.

Ya'll have been such a great help!

So far everything's good.. power steering is totally fine and most of the pump's sounds have subsided. The last problem I seem to be having is there is almost a "rubbing" sort of sound when I'm steering now. Not all the time, just enough to be like, hmmm.. I don't like that. Any ideas on that?

I love my typical scooby. It does throw hissy fits about the little stuff though.

Normal tire size?

Check wheel wells and try to determine which side.

 

O.

Couldn't hurt to check the shrouds around the wheel-wells just to make sure one hasn't been knocked loose somehow. Look for signs of abrasion from the wheel against the plastic.