As the title says, I was driving home from work and started getting a horrible shaking, couldn't accelerate past about 50 max. I stopped on the side of the road, couldn't find anything, then for some reason thought to turn off the A/C. Immediately it started running smoothly again, no problems. There had been some noise coming from the compressor, so I figured it just went bad and I'd have to replace it. About 20 min/miles down the road though, I lost all power steering (not something to discover on a twisty off-ramp btw).

Is the power steering loss just due to the compressor going bad, or is it possible they actually both went bad at once? The belt is still on and everything else runs fine, it just takes Superman effort to turn now.

 

Perhaps the drag from the compressor ruined the belt and it is slipping. Did you verify the p/s pump pulley was spinning?

 

Sometimes the AC front seal fails, spraying the PAG oil all over the place. It that gets on the belt it'll certainly slip...

Crawl under and feel around the compressor behind the clutch....oil there most likely came from the compressor....

 

Apparently when the compressor blew, it snapped the accessory bracket in half, and I'm not yet sure if the PS lost fluid because the compressor fell on the line and bent it enough to allow blowby, or if it actually split the line. Now I need to find an accessory bracket, wish me luck...

 

Pics, cuz I'm stunned...

 

I have a bracket. Unfortunately it's clean and powder coated black. Was going to go onto the 97 Trans Am but never got there. $100
lmk, ron