Turtle Moon Bone!

Sounds like it should have "Zappa" tacked on the end of it.

I think I forgot to squee, so... much congratulations to you Jessica!

~ma for Robin. Doesn't sound fun, and I wish you good luck.

Sorry if this sounds obvious, but did you check the power steering fluid level?

I wouldn't know where to look. It's one of the few things that is still a mystery to me. I did notice that when I started the car up this morning after about a minute I could hear a whine coming from the engine. It stopped in less than a minute, but when I started backing up I could tell I'd lost the power steering. I'm thinking a belt may have slipped off somewhere?

I'm thinking a belt may have slipped off somewhere?

Possibly. But low (or no) power steering fluid can result in a loud whining noise too, as well as give you no power steering.

What kind of car is it? The power steering pump is typically driven by a belt, and it'll have this knob/dipstick thing on top that you remove to check the level. Usually you should check the level with the engine warm (and not running).

My LTD has a power steering leak, and when it makes that whining noise I know it's time to add fluid. If I don't add fluid I eventually lose the power assist until I add fluid to it.

Also, I think extensive driving without power steering fluid will damage the power steering pump.

What kind of car is it?

It's an Olds Alero. Do you think I should take it in today? I can probably call the place back for an appointment today and have a coworker follow me over there.

Do you think I should take it in today?

Well, I would say "soon." You're at work now? How far is home? Also, maybe someone at work can check the power steering fluid for you. You can buy power steering fluid at any auto parts or hardware store or even pharmacy. If that's the only problem you can save yourself some trouble in taking your car in.

eta: If it turns out to be lack of power steering fluid, there might be a leak that will need attending to. But if the leak's small you can just keep adding fluid and postpone the repair for a while if you want to.

Home is 13 miles. There's a Checker about 5 miles from here, the same area as the Firestone. I'll see if one of the guys I work with can help me check the fluid level.

Looks like I'm nearly out of fluid. One of the guys is going to run to the store on break and pick me up a bottle. I'm still going to take it in to Firestone tomorrow, though. I need to make sure there's no leak. If it costs me $30-40 to do it, it's at least peace of mind.

I think that's a good idea, Sail. Yay for helpful co-workers. If tommy with with you, he could MacGyver it with some bubble gum and a paper clip.

One of the guys is going to run to the store on break and pick me up a bottle.

That's good.

You could also just check it every day for a while to see if it's leaking or not. If you're not losing any noticeable amount then you could just check it whenever you add gas or something.

Older cars will sometimes just develop slow leaks of stuff like that, so you need to check fluid levels more often and top them off when needed, but you generally don't need to have a mechanic look at it unless the leak gets bad. Or if you're gonna take a long trip. Or for peace of mind too. So if you feel you need to have it checked for peace of mind, do it, but otherwise you might not have to just yet. If you have an old car and are low on money, certain repairs can be put off for a while. Also, if the power steering fails completely that would be bad, but it wouldn't leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere.

Also, do you trust the mechanic to tell you, "You don't need to fix this just yet"? Some mechanics will just try to get you to replace the part even if you don't need to.

I hope I'm not coming across as condescending. If you own an older car, it's good to know some stuff like this - it can help save you money.

House-ma, Sue!