i own a 2001 dodge ram 2500 diesel. i have no power steering or brakes. before it went out there was some clicking in the steering and then i had no power steering. the brake pedel is very stiff and it is hard to brake. did this happen to anyone else? what happened and how do i fix it?

 

Look under the hood. Is the serpentine belt still in place? Does anything appear to be out of the ordinary?

 

Yeah, the belt would be my first guess. Did you hit anything lately? Run through some brush? Check the fluid/hoses for those pumps/reservoirs. Check the fuses while you are at it, couldn't hurt.

 

Power steering pump runs off of the gear drive check to see if the pump shaft is turning and check your power steering fluid level.

 

Could it possibly be the vacuum pump? I thought that it was behind the front cover and just before the power steering pump? So if the pump broke you could in turn lose both the power steering and the vacuum driven brake booster????

 

the belt is still in place and i have not hit anything recently

 

when i tried to clean the screen in the power steering pump where the pressure line enters the pump there was a little piece of light aluminum or plastic in the screen, i don't know it that helps

 

The brakes work off of the power sterring hydro boost.

 

both the steering and brake reservoirs are full of fluid.

 

I would bet you have a broken drive coupler gear; it's between the vacuum pump and power steering pump. Go to "fixinrams.com" and you will see what I'm talking about. If the ears on the gear break the steering pump will still have all it's fluid---but none of it is moving around.