[themadhatta]

So here's the deal, I bought this escort recently for 150 bucks. Its in great shape, except for a few minor repairs needed. The guy who sold it to me told me it needed a head gasket replaced on it. Well my buddies and I started to tear the head off, when we noticed one of the spark plug wires wasn't plugged in. We plugged it in, the car ran great! Well there was one other problem that needed work under the hood, the power steering pump was shot. So I got a new pump, pulled the old one, got the pulley changed around and put the new one in. The whole thing works great, except for one little problem. When I turn the steering wheel the car now stalls out unless I give it gas. The RPM'S drop anytime I hit the brakes, even if I'm sitting at idol. I've come to the conclusion it is probably something to do with the belt, or belt tension. I do not have a tension gauge so I am not sure on how tight it is. There is very little, if any, play with the belt. Finally when we were taking the alternator off, we had to cut one of the wires, the stud on the alternator was stripped out. I attempted to cut the nut off, but ended up damaging the stud. In the interest of time (since im doing all of this outside in the snow), I soldered the wire straight to the stud for now. I intend on replacing the alternator when I can afford a new one. Does anyone have any suggestions on what could be wrong?

 

[zzyzzx]

Check the pressure sensor for the power steering that idles it up when you turn the steering wheel a lot. Also check for vacuum leaks, espically the PCV elbow.

 

[ethangsmith]

Agreed. Also, if the idle goes down when you apply the brakes, that could indicate the power brake booster is bad. Also, clean out the idle air controller.

 

[themadhatta]

thanks ill give it a try in the mornin and let ya know how it goes!

 

[94escortmodsman]

Check the power steering pressure lines, those tend to go bad on these things, and it was messing up my RPM's when I turned. They look like AC lines running from the reservoir to the pump. And for the brakes- check the brake booster like zzyzx said.

 

[juggalo]

escorts r known to loose fuel pressure at right turns. check the fuel pressure at the fuel rail, if u loose pressure while turning that could be the cause of ur problem there. i would say get a bosch fuel pump and do the mods found in the how to section.

 

[94escortmodsman]

He meant turn the steering wheel, i think, not the car.

 

[themadhatta]

yeah at the moment the car is not driving anywhere, im sitting at idle trying to turn the wheel. (originally figured this out while bleeding the power steering lines) Checked the PCV Valve and all the vacuum lines I could find...no problems....Checked the Idol control valve no problems (replaced it actually)....someone is telling me a filter on the power steering lines down near the steering rack? I haven't put the car on a lift to check that yet. Its almost like the pump is grabbing ahold of the belt too much and stalling the car out...im wondering if its a bad pump (new)? or maybe the tension is too tight? or the tensioner? i mean you can see the tensioner moving back and forth when you turn the wheel.

 

[juggalo]

that pump is probably busted. and there is no filter on the steering lines. what ype of fluid did u use and how much did u put in?

 

[zzyzzx]

Check your power Steering pump pressure switch:

http://www.fixya.com/cars/t2688517-need ... ocus_power

It's #9 on the diagram. I bet it's unplugged, or something.

 

[themadhatta]

um my power steering is completely manual...there was no switch there...Im at a loss, ill check the lines. I forget what kind I used, I got it from autozone, and I honestly dont know how much I used. My mechanic buddy filled it for me, but the air is outa the lines and its reading full on the resevoir.

 

[zzyzzx]

Perhaps the switch is missing, or something.

 

[juggalo]

i think that was just for the focus cuz i don't have a pressure switch either. it's not even listed in my book.

 

[zzyzzx]

i think that was just for the focus cuz i don't have a pressure switch either. it's not even listed in my book.

My 1995LX does have this pressure switch. What year and type is your Escort, and do we know what year and type of Escort the OP has?

 

[juggalo]

mine is a 92lx wagon. we don't know what the op has.

 

[themadhatta]

I have a 95 LX as well....where is the switch located? what is it near?