Hi, my my power steering just went out on my 1996 wagon 850 non turbo, The belt fried under the hood, need that replaced obviously bit I'm wondering how to test he pump first w/out replacing it and the belt. The pully turns just fine so that tells me the pump is still good? All the pertinent lights on my dash came on but the car still starts and I realize it's just a matter of time that it will go dead w/out the alternator being generated by the belt. Any insight?

 

Did you lose the power steering assist before the belt fried or after ??

If the belt fried it's likely something seized and if the power steering pump turns smoothly and you had power assist before the belt fried, the pump is OK. BUT, just because it turns smoothly doesn't indicate it's good just that it's not the problem causing the belt to fry.

Have you tried to spin the AC, idler, tensioner and alternator to see if one of them is the problem ?