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I need your opinions.I'm getting ready to go look at an '80.The owner says it drives fine,and he drives it every weekend,but it keeps throwing power steering belts.He says he now drives it without the belt. Is this a problem any of you have encountered? Thanks.
There could be a few problems. The belt could be too long so even when the pump is at full adjustment the belt is still too loose.
It could also be a problem with the grooves of one or more of the pulleys so the belt is not riding in the groove enough.
If you had the car, I would start with a new belt, and see how it lines up and sits in the grooves and then go from there. At worst, it might need a new pulley or two, and maybe some shimming if something is not lined up right.
Been a real pain for me, after reinstalling the engine, (two different sets of motor mounts) my power steering pulley hits the frame.
I'll need to shim the motor mounts up to get clearance, check with a sheet of paper between the pulley and the frame, try to slide a piece of paper between the front of the pulley and the frame.
Besides it possibly being the wrong or a worn belt, I would look closely at the alignment of the power steering pulley to the crankshaft pulley looking from the driver's side of the car. I've had a couple cars where the power steering pulley sits back a little and this would cause the problem. I had to shim the pump forward with a couple of washers.