1992es300

Thanks for the feedback guys..keep it coming! The car is still in the shop to replace a CV boot and to do a major service, including checking the belts, so maybe replacing the belt(s) will do the trick. As for the A/C compressor, that was my inital thought too, but the noise doesn't seem to be dependent on whether it's cycled on, but I will double check that just to be sure Also, how common is a steering pump failure/ water pump failure, and at what mileage? I was a little suspicious because with all the problems I've had with cars, I've never had any with steering pump issues. Is this a common ES 300 problem? Thanks again! :)

Hello all, I'm new here, so forgive me if this is an obvious/already answered question. A friend has a 92 ES 300 that had a large coolant loss. It was diagnosed as a cracked radiator, which has been replaced. However, there is also a funny whining/moaning sound intermittantly at idle...i don't know if it's there when cruising b/c I dont usually drive the car. It is relatively loud, and the mechanic has diagnosed it as a power steering pump that needs to be replaced. However, the steering operates fine, and the noise is there regardless of whether the steering wheel is being turned. Any ideas...could it be something else like the water pump, which had some possible dried seepage and could have been affected by the low coolant level in the old radiator, or is the steering pump a common problem? Also, is it possible to wait until there are actually steering problems? The car only has 85k miles, and is driven about 3k a year currently, so dont want to put too much money into it. Thanks in advance for your help!