So I have been getting this winding sound for a couple of days.....I had the same sort of sound years ago with an old Chevy S-10 and then the power steering pump went out.

Also, there is a high pitch sound when revved up that may be part of the same issue or something else. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. See video for what I'm talking about.

 

It is hard to tell exactly what it is without being there myself. The lower-pitched noise does sound like a power steering pump.

Does the noise change when you turn the steering wheel??

Next, I would remove the power steering belt and start the truck up again.

It is perfectly fine to do this because the power steering is the only thing being driven from that belt. The water pump, alternator, and air conditioning run off of different belts.

If the noise(s) are gone, they are coming from that belt circuit (power steering pump, idler pulley, crankshaft pulley, the belt itself). Inspect the components while the belt is off. Check the idler pulley for smooth operation and make sure there is no play in the bearing. Also check the condition of the belt too. The belts I replaced a few years ago sounded like a bearing going bad when we had high humidity or heavy rain.

 

Okay I'll give that a shot and see if the sounds persist. Thank you!

 

GO figure......the sounds have mysteriously disappeared. Ugh. I guess I'll wait for it to happen again.

 

I had this problem when I think the PO of mine put regular Power Steering Fluid in, instead of the ATF/Dexron. Replacing all the fluid in the system and bleeding it fixed the sound right up so if it comes up again check that out next maybe

 

Hopefully it's just the idler pulley bearing... just replaced mine for a few bucks (here)

 

^^ This is definitely worth looking at, even if the noise has gone away.

Sometimes the bearing in the idler pulley can make little to no noise when going bad and then seize up.

You want the bearing to be easy to spin and feel smooth (as shown in 22RE Performance's video in the thread RAD4Runner posted) and have basically zero side-to-side play or wobble.