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The power steering belt came off of my '77 vette. I followed the instructions on other treads and removed the alternator to have better access. I've loosened the bolts to allow the pump to slide. However, it looks like the pump pulley is not aligned with the crank. The top of the pump appears to pitch back toward the engine. The mounting brackets appear to be original and without damage. Should I try shimming the top?
I suggest verifying the pulley part number to ensure you have the correct one before doing anything else.
Originally Posted by sassk
Hi,
The power steering belt came off of my '77 vette. I followed the instructions on other treads and removed the alternator to have better access. I've loosened the bolts to allow the pump to slide. However, it looks like the pump pulley is not aligned with the crank. The top of the pump appears to pitch back toward the engine. The mounting brackets appear to be original and without damage. Should I try shimming the top?
2020 Corvette of the Year Finalist (performance mods)
2019 C3 of Year Winner (performance mods)
2016 C3 of Year Finalist
Any luck? I have the same issue, I set it up for a parade a week ago Sunday. Plenty of 700 to 5000 rpm blasts to pleasse the crowd and it never came off. guess it isnt too much of an issue.
It's possible that the bracket(s) are bent and could be straightened.
Also, be aware, V belts to not have to be perfectly aligned to work correctly. Of course, it's best to have them aligned, but if their off a bit and they stay on, it's not the end of the world.
I'm with Sayfoo. Its not the pulley. That bracket is waaaaayyyyyy out of whack. But I can't pin point the exact spot that is.
You could shim but that is kind of bubba. You need a clear picture from someone of what its suppose to look like. I suspect that top bolt, going into the block is the culprit along with the bracket. Who knows what people have done to that in 40+ yrs.
I wonder if the problem is when you threw the belt or if it has happened sometime before, it distorted or bent the sheet metal on the pump outer front face and the shaft is now at a slightly upwards angle. You could shim it but I would check the pump shaft angle relative to the pump itself first.
After studying the parts diagram and reviewing 71 Greens question, I think he is on to something there. It does appear that someone put a wheel alignment shim in place between the bracket hardware.
WTH? So they knew it was bent. They just chose not to repair it correctly. Looking at the Timing Tab for reference, that PS upper bolt should be parallel with that tab.
Its way off.
I think if it were mine, I would place an ad in Parts For Sale / Wanted section. See if somebody has an extra "straight" bracket on there.
I had a similar situation when I built my 383 and attached the PS pump from the old engine. There was a slight misalignment. I had to do a little shimming to get it right. It was easier though because the engine was out of the car. Agree with above that it doesn't have to be perfect but try to get it close.
Wow! 71 Green 454 has got eagle eyes! I hadn't noticed the shim. The hook tab on the bracket was cracked and allowed the pump to tilt back a bit. I ordered new brackets this morning (only $50 new). I'll update the post when it arrives.
Thanks again. I appreciate the tips!
This is the best photo I could get of the PS pump pully alignment on my '77 without removing the alternator. It is the original pump and has never been off the car (I've owned the car for 25+ years) and I've never replaced the belt (should probably do that). I noticed at one time or another that it appeared slightly out of alignment, can't really see it clearly in the photo. It never concerned me and it's never been an issue.
Wow! 71 Green 454 has got eagle eyes! I hadn't noticed the shim. The hook tab on the bracket was cracked and allowed the pump to tilt back a bit. I ordered new brackets this morning (only $50 new). I'll update the post when it arrives.
Thanks again. I appreciate the tips!
I was going to ask you about the rear of the lower bracket, but you stated that the brackets didn't have any damage. I had the lower hook tab break twice on the lower bracket of my '71 big block over the years causing the PS pump to tilt forward.
Good luck on the new brackets.
Success! The new bracket arrived yesterday and I installed it last night. The alignment has been resolved!
One problem solved, another one surfaced. I had the mechanic update the AC. While it works great, I noticed that the belt was loose. The reason it is loose is that he used an SAE bolt instead of metric on the bolt that is used to adjust AC belt tension. I realized that the reason he did that was because the metric bolt is slightly larger (12 x 1.75) and doesn't fit through the slot on the AC compressor bracket. I'm going to try increasing the slide track width of the AC mounting bracket to accommodate the correct bolt. My plan is to put a drill bit in my drill press and see if I can slide along the track to widen it. Of course, the threads in the compressor are damaged, but I'm optimistic that I can run a tab in them to get enough bite.
Thanks for the help. It is much appreciated. I'll let you know how the AC compressor mounting bracket saga plays out!
Power steering pump alignment
