81_vette!

My power steering pump is not aligned properly in relation to the belt. (1977 manual, small block)

The pulley needs to be moved forward about 1/2" so the belt does not rub on the side of the pulley.

From looking at the diagrams for the pump and mounting brackets.... I am struggling to determine where I need to put a shim(s).


Do you shim behind the pump on the rear mount stud? (actually shimming the pump only)

OR

Do you shim the mounting bracket that the pump is attached to? (shimming the bracket and the pump)



Can anyone tell me the best place to shim the pump?


Zip Corvette has a really nice diagram of the parts here:

http://www.zip-corvette.com/ProductD...GR-SR&CTitle=&

RonR80

I think I would shim the bracket the pump is bolted too, just curious why is it out of alignment, Ron

81_vette!

Previous owner had installed a new power steering system.. including the pump.

It works fine... but I can clearly see the pulley is not properly aligned with the belt. The pulley is at an angle compared to the belt.

I think this is part of the "shaking" I feel when the engine is running.

Easy Mike

I'm not certain pumps and brackets are/were shimmed. I'm wondering whether an incorrect pump was installed or whether it's loose in the bracket.

Next silly question is whether the correct groove on the crank pulley is being used.

81_vette!

Definitely not loose... solid as a rock.

I wonder if the bracket is bent a wee bit?

RonR80

I have seen bent brackets due to the belt being too tight, any pics of this,Ron

snoopykissedlucy

My story:
All power steering pump parts looked stock but upon teardown........the pulley had been installed and pulled off so many times, the pulley hole was "wallered" (southern technical term meaning to make a round hole not a round hole-oblong)

As I turned the pulley, it was wobbling and vibrating.

My advice:
Step 1: use a harmonic balancer installer and first make sure the dampener is pushed all the way in
Step2: use a power steering pulley puller and slightly pull the pulley out just a bit
Step 3: use washers as spacers behind the two long bolts on the block face

Kevin68

I'm going through this right now with a crate motor that I just added PS to. Shimming between the block and the bracket is the only thing that will get the pulley forward, but that may cause a problem with your alternator belt hitting the PS mounting bolt and the bracket attachment to the motor mount. You might get lucky and find a pulley with different dimensions (watch the shaft size and width carefully, not sure the impact of a slightly different diameter other than pump speed). I found one...I think (fingers crossed, will find out Wednesday). Lowes sells 1/2 x 3/8" spacers. Home Depot sells stainless steel washers that are thinner than a standard 3/8" washer for a finer adjustment (they might also sell spacers, too).

In my attempt to find the correct allignment, I learned: 1) you can grind half the head off the bolt to gain 1/8" clearance, 2) make a screw out of a carriage bolt, 3) Placing a band of tape around the washers makes it a lot easier to get them in (but trim the tape off the flat side of the washers).

Hopefully you don't have to do any of these bubba fixes. I hated even trying them. Good luck.

81_vette!

[QUOTE=Kevin68;1576722425 Shimming between the block and the bracket is the only thing that will get the pulley forward, but that may cause a problem with your alternator belt hitting the PS mounting bolt and the bracket attachment to the motor mount.[/QUOTE]


You nailed that one.

Exactly what I ran into. I could get shims installed and things lined up pretty good... but that mounting bolt on the bottom was just too close to my alternator belt.

So, I was able to shim behind the upper mounting bolt and bracket, and behind the pump itself on the belt adjustment bolt. Interestingly... there were lots of shims behind the pump brackets already. So, the PO tried to line it up a little better as well.


Anyway... it lines up better than it did... and it works fine... but I am going to keep my eye on that lower mounting bolt... cause even before the shimming... it was close!

herriot

my pulley was way out.i started using 1mm washers as shims.in total i needed to make up 10 mm .3/8 is approx 9.5 mm.i taped them together with masking tape.im getting a spacer cut from 10mm plate.only problem i had was running out of thread on the 3/8 adjuster bolt so i made one 10 mm longer problem solved.now im waiting for seals to rebuild the pump and will paint it.new belt purchased using locktite and locknuts where needed.all this going into a 38 chevy rod with sbc.71 vette doner.i wont have a problem with the alternator belt my alternator is on top between the cylinders.i also used 3/8 longer mounting bolts.i was carefull to check the bolts didnt bottom out in the crankcase

wgc454

My water pump pulley has 3 v groves front grove is smaller
back two are bigger
crank pulley 3 v groves front grove smaller back two are bigger
alt two grove
p/s one grove
smog pump one grove
ac one grove
motor is matching number for 1977

oldalaskaman

I like this 'next' question, wonder if the op would post a pic.?

PeteZO6

Probably the cleanest way to fix your misalignment is a different p/s pulley. I have a two grove pulley on my pump and told my friend I wanted to replace to it with a single grove pulley. He offered to trade me one of his. It didn't line up at all, way too far forward. Finding the right pulley may be a daunting task, but probably cleaner than shimming the pump away from the engine.

Pete

herriot

if you alter the crank pulleys you may have to shim the alternator as well.my advice leave the crankshaft pulleys as they are.working out what size spacer you need is the hardest part of this.getting one spacer made with two holes in it will make fitting the bracket easier.ive no belt in the groove nearest the engine(no air con),but even if i had i dont think there would be a problem with hitting the longer bolts as the inner belt would run from crank pulley to waterpump pulley with 3/8 clearance and no issues.middle pulley runs the alternator and water pump and outside pulley runs the power steering pump.i have brackets ordered for a new alternator bracket and a spacer for the power steering pump,both in stainless steel.should have them today( fingers crossed )hopefully i will end up with the belts running true and no chewed up belts.access is not great in the vette bay but i took the rad and grill off the rod and every thing gets much easier.

i wanted to put a locknut on the tensioning stud but i was running out of thread.so i removed the stud and cut a bolt 3/8 longer than the stud overall.there is an o ring behind the stud so i put the factory end of the threaded stud in first and ran a tap down the threads and a rub of a grinder to clean up the threads.used a ordinary nut to lock the stud in place and a little spacer to fill the gap left.end result fixed.have photos taken but need a card reader for the camera

Phil Zell

I thought the pulleys were a press fit and could actually be placed anywhere necessary to line up. Please correct me if I am wrong. there should be no reason to have to use shims if you have the correct parts.

Just my $.02 worth

oldalaskaman

I believe Easy Mike is thinking that the other belts may be on the wrong groove ...also, and that if placed in their proper grooves, the mis-alignment may be resolved

NAmuscle

So I am having a similar problem on mine, 77 350 SB
Alternator, P.S, Crank and Water Pump

My power steering pump is passed the water and crank pulleys.

It looks to be fully pressed (yes a pressed fit pump)

Ive heard of getting a concave pulley but havent had any luck finding one online.

Can anyone chime in?

Thanks

herriot

i was in fact 6mm out of alignment.got a spacer burnt from 6mm mild steel.dont make the spacer bigger than it needs to be because the back of the bracketry is not totally flat.take it off and have a look..in my case the bracket that does the tensioning was bent a little so i straightened it out a little.i needed to pull the pulley forward,but i was running out of adjustment at the engine mount slot.i filled the slot about 5mm.i needed a spacer between the tensioning bracket and the back of the pump.got that made in black nylon to make it less obvious.here is a picture of the finished job

herriot

then stripped the pump ,fitted new seals,pulley and nut and painted the lot.one thing i found helped a lot was using longer mounting bolts,for trial fitting,this allowed me to push the pump forward while tightening the hose clips without scratching the new paint,replacing them with the correct bolts for final assembly.i drilled the mounting bolts for lockwiring and gave them a drop of locktite.dont want them coming loose ever on the road.dont forget new belts while your at it

Avette4me

They are, interesting idea.