PontiacBonnevilleClub.com

Cousin of mine has a 2002 Firebird,,,55k miles,,,last week while driving she heard a "tick,tick,tick" under the hood then the car stopped,,,could start...took it to a local big box store (Monroe?)....they told her the power steering pump seized, and it sheered all the bolts holding it to the block...

Now ive worked on cars for over 40 yrs....what the hell could ever cause a seized PS pump to break the bolts off ???? There is NO way that belt is strong enough to do that,,,,,

IF the PS seized it seems it would have just burned the belt up......is this a scam job ??

Interesting story. Take the car somewhere else. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to know the belt would shred long before the bolts sheared. And you'd expect to hear a lovely squealing sound from the belt when the PS pump seized.

Having said that, it's conceivable that if the bolts for the PS pump had worked loose and things have been wobbling around in there for a while the bolts could have cracked.

...assuming that the Firebird in question is 3800 powered...

I should tell you, it IS possible. My parents had a 95 Olds Delta 88 (Series II 3800) do nearly the same thing. I don't remember exactly what initiated the problem, but instead of the bolts breaking, the block cracked and split apart at one of the cast iron tabs.

I would have to believe the FWD and RWD blocks would be similar in that area...