power steering on 1988 528e

["Tom Borden" <te.borden@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Whoops! Came out of the bottom of our road this morning and almost
couldn't make the left turn. pulled over to right, then took off again
and all seemed well for 13 miles or so, but when I arrived at commuter
parking lot, I had trouble making left turn into a space.  Had to
back-and-forth the car twice to turn into the space!
 
There was no noise I could hear, no shuddering either.  Just seemed
dead.
 
Small owner handbook advises I check power steering fluid level (ATF).
Did so -- after I unscrewed reservoir cover and placed it back so it
rested atop hole, the fluid level was exactly between the two hash
marks, which I think means level is perfect, right?  
 
Can anyone confirm the next suspect the "V" belt?  Is that something an
ordinary guy can replace himself or requires special equipment/gauges?  
 
Is it possible it's a fuse/electrical connection that governs the power
steering?
 
To show how un-deft I am at this, does ATF stand for Automatic
Transmission Fluid ?  Do you use the same fluid for power steering as
for auto trans?
 
Would appreciate any light y'all can shed.  By the way, we had a lot of
rain last night/this a.m. here in New Jersey, but I'd only driven 1/8th
of a mile or so before first incident.  Also, this evening's return
commute was incident-free.
 
Thanks all.
 
Tom Borden

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