Pulley noise, power steering pump?

[zebra]

Hi, I'm a new user and I need some advise. I am going to attempt to replace my power steering pump in my vs because last night it was making a horrible squealing noise. I was told it did need replacing soon by a mechanic a few months ago, as it has a slow leak, but hasn't been very noisy. I've always made sure of keeping the fluid level up so I haven't let it run dry or anything. Last night as a was about to pull into my driveway, it started. But it's very loud. Why would the noise start suddenly? It's never made such a noise before this. And can I do it without a pulley tool, or is it necessary to align it properly to put it back on? And what seals or gaskets do I need to get? Any help or step by step instruction would be very much appreciated. Even pictures would be great, can't always remember the names of all the parts. Had another listen today, now I'm not so sure it's p's pump, could it be the harmonic balancer? I found out it has a vt h'b installed, is it really compatible with vs motor? Won't be attempting that myself, a bit too much for me I think.

[hako]

Welcome to the forum.
Replacing a power steering pump is not rocket science, however it does help if you have a workshop manual to refer to, so I'd advise you to buy yourself a manual - Gregorys is about the best - it will pay for itself over and over.
But back to your problem - if you had a slow PS leak, I would suggest that you add some "PS stop leak"....Nulon is a good brand - this usually will stop leaks and will extend the life of the pump and rack.
However, the noise may not be coming from the PS pump so you need to find out exactly where it is coming from. You can do this by removing the serpentine belt and then turning each pulley by hand and see if you can detect any roughness or stiffness in in the pulleys as you turn them by hand. Check your owners manual for how to remove the belt.
It is not unusual for the belt to squeal when on full lock if the belt is worn or has oil on it - although normally it will not.