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I said I needed help and was thinking of a GoFundMe to get new tires. Here's the link if you can throw a couple bucks my way:

Car Needs Tires (and other problems)

Wait one

As Tev has as usual forgotten the Paypal option for those of us not in the US/without credit cards, here's her Paypal (with her permission of course)
Tev's Paypal

Well... someone anonymously dropped $750 into my GoFundMe. 0-0

That means next week, soon as the donation clears, I'm going to go get new tires.

However, since the GoFundMe hasn't been up for a full week yet so I'm going to let it keep going. If you want to donate a few dollars, feel free. It's all going to bills or groceries stocking up for winter.

Well... things went from bad to worse.

While driving Mom's car home from my niece's housewarming party, I start noticing the car's handling funny, like the steering wheel was stiff.

We leave Gauley Mountain, get inside the town limits, the steering wheel is sticking and not wanting to turn. Battery Warning Light comes on, and I tell Mom "I think the power steering is going out". By the time we drive the 3miles to our street, I am hauling with all my strength to get the steering wheel to move. I just do manage to get the car backed into the driveway, but can't straighten it out to get into the garage. I park the car before I hit the garage.

So... I've upped the money needed, and it might be more than that to fix Mom's power steering. Or... we might get lucky and it's just a leak in a wire. Won't know til Tuesday or later because of Labor Day.

So... welcome to The Fuckening.

The universe really doesn't like you

Huh.

I'm curious about the battery warning light - could be a problem with your serpentine belt, that's what got my pickup a few years ago. The tension pulley for the belt disassembled itself and pretty much everything stopped working. The power steering, of course, but also the batter warning light came on because the alternator was no longer working. Oh, and it overheated. Which you didn't mention your car doing.

The belt turned out to be a relatively easy fix. Or it could be something else. Just keep an open mind about what might be wrong.

LadyTevar wrote: ↑2021-09-04 07:16pm Well... things went from bad to worse.

While driving Mom's car home from my niece's housewarming party, I start noticing the car's handling funny, like the steering wheel was stiff.

We leave Gauley Mountain, get inside the town limits, the steering wheel is sticking and not wanting to turn. Battery Warning Light comes on, and I tell Mom "I think the power steering is going out". By the time we drive the 3miles to our street, I am hauling with all my strength to get the steering wheel to move. I just do manage to get the car backed into the driveway, but can't straighten it out to get into the garage. I park the car before I hit the garage.

So... I've upped the money needed, and it might be more than that to fix Mom's power steering. Or... we might get lucky and it's just a leak in a wire. Won't know til Tuesday or later because of Labor Day.

So... welcome to The Fuckening.

What's the make and model of the car? Depending, the most common types of power steering are hydraulic and and electric. Now if it's a car with an electric power steering, it can get disabled if the alternator stops working because the car tries to preserve what is in the battery to keep the engine going and / or because the voltage drops too low.
If the power steering is hydraulic it'll keep going as long as the system has fluid in it and the serpentine belt hasn't been thrown or damaged. If the serpentine belt is damaged or thrown off, it would immediately cause both the battery light to come on and disable power steering.
If the power steering is electric however, there might also be a fault with the power steering motor itself and pretty much only cure then is to replace the whole power steering unit, which is expensive.

-Gunhead

It's a 2004 Chrysler Concord LX-something.

And it's bad. The (serpentine?) belt is off the track, but in one piece. What's not in one piece is whatever was holding the belt on the track down at the bottom. From what was explained to me (I was at work when the guy came to look at it), this belt controls alternator, steering, and a bunch of other things. Whatever broke and threw the belt, well... we should have stopped as soon as it got hard to drive and left it on the side of the road. He was amazed I got it home and parked as bad as it was.

We're probably going to have to have it towed 40-some miles to the dealership she bought it from, where they've been taking care of it all this time. With the age of the car, I'm concerned the price of the repair will be more than the car's worth, and Insurance call it "Totalled".
That is.. if insurance would even cover this. I don't know, that's another call Mom will have to make.

People are still being generous and donating to the GoFundMe, and every little bit helps. Hopefully we can have both cars sorted out next week... but Life is too full of Lemons this month

LadyTevar wrote: ↑2021-09-06 09:51pm It's a 2004 Chrysler Concord LX-something.

And it's bad. The (serpentine?) belt is off the track, but in one piece. What's not in one piece is whatever was holding the belt on the track down at the bottom.

Sounds like you lost the tension pulley. That's what happened to me on my pickup.

LadyTevar wrote: ↑2021-09-06 09:51pmWith the age of the car, I'm concerned the price of the repair will be more than the car's worth, and Insurance call it "Totalled".

When it happened to me the tow actually cost more than the repair. Can't remember the exact amount at this point, but while there was a cost I was pleasantly surprised at the price. On the other hand, at the time I had more resources than you currently have. I have concerns this will be budget-busting for you.

On the other other hand, I pulled over immediately and called for a tow.

The question here is whether or not continuing to drive caused further damage. Not being a mechanic, and not knowing exactly what's under the hood, I can't say. If the cost of repair is less than the cost of a (reliable) replacement then I'd opt for repair.

LadyTevar wrote: ↑2021-09-06 09:51pmThat is.. if insurance would even cover this. I don't know, that's another call Mom will have to make.

If the Go Fund Me is sufficient you might be able to cover this regardless of whether or not insurance does.

At this point, getting a scratch on the rear-quarter panel of my pickup would result in the insurance company decreeing it "totaled" because insurance does not value old vehicles.

LadyTevar wrote: ↑2021-09-06 09:51pmPeople are still being generous and donating to the GoFundMe, and every little bit helps. Hopefully we can have both cars sorted out next week... but Life is too full of Lemons this month

Indeed it is.

As I noted, if the damage is JUST the tension pulley (and that's what's actually wrong) the repair costs are likely $100-200. Plus the cost of the tow. I realize that for you this represents a significant sum but it's within reach of your current Go Fund Me amount. If something else was damaged it may cost more. At this point all you can do is get someone to look at it and give you an estimate.

Replacing a belt tensioner and belt is not that hard so if you know someone who can do spannerwork, source the parts yourself and pay someone on the side to do it. The real trick is to dig out all the bits of the old belt which usually end up wrapped around the crankshaft pulley and they need to come out so the crankshaft seal isn't damaged. Sometimes this requires removing the pulley but not always. It is possible there's damage to other auxiliary equipment the belt powers, such as power steering, alternator, A/C and possibly water pump, this however is rare and it's easy to notice but more importantly, said stuff needs to be checked because seized up auxiliary device can be the cause of the torn serpentine belt / damaged tensioner pully.

-Gunhead

Gunhead wrote: ↑2021-09-07 12:15pmReplacing a belt tensioner and belt is not that hard so if you know someone who can do spannerwork, source the parts yourself and pay someone on the side to do it...

With one important caveat: Make very certain that any friend, relative, neighbour etc you enlist for this actually has a clue what the fuck they are doing. If they aren't as competent as they think they are you're going to have a bad time.

Just wanted to check in with more encouragement, and to see how things are going. Let us know when you have the time, Tev.

The money came in, and I was up at 0600 yesterday to be at the tire place by 0700 to get the new tires.
I was the second in line.

Mom's car is still parked crooked in the driveway. One of my eldest brother's friends came and looked at it Tuesday while I was at work. The belt is in one piece, but "a bracket" is broken off. Eldest brother is coming by tomorrow, supposedly with a replacement part. He'll probably be here after I'm gone for work, so I won't know until I get home if he can fix it.
Mom's not asked for money yet. She was still very upset that I "was begging for money" because it's embarrassing to her.

All I can do is wait and see if the car's still in the driveway tomorrow.

Still needing help.

LadyTevar wrote: ↑2021-09-17 09:49pm Still needing help.

It's no longer accepting donations.
Not a US citizen.

SORRY!

I forgot to post that I shut it down because I got everything done I needed done!

Excellent news!

Sent, even if it is post-hoc

The Grim Squeaker wrote: ↑2021-10-15 09:28am Sent, even if it is post-hoc

Thank you! I got the notice today!