My power steering pulley moves in and out maybe 1/4" when the belt is removed.

I was wiggling all my pulleys when I had the belt off to service the oil cooler last Friday and noticed it had in/out play in the shaft. No side to side, all seemed solid.

How much play is "okay" for these pumps?

I was checking for any sources of knocking or what-not. I have a little noise coming from the drivers side. Might be a knock, might be normal, might clear up when I retorque injectors

It's not urgent, not having any problems with it right now. I am looking to flush and service it soon, but not if it needs replaced

I appreciate all opinions!

 

If your pulley moves that much without tension, it will probably also walk a little even when under tension with the belt on. I know from experience that 1/4" misalignment is enough to excessively wear the outer edge of your serp belt for a significant reduction in belt life, and the terminal point for this process is a very unexpected belt break while driving down the road (sudden loss of power steering and reduced braking power).

 

Thanks! I guessed at 1/4" but with what you're saying, I'll pull the belt again tomorrow and check it closer.

 

Yeah... when I did my oil cooler orings several years back, I slipped off the PS pulley to slide the PS bracket forward to get better access to the front bolts. When I put it all back, I did not get the pulley pushed in far enough. It ate up my brand new serp belt within a week!

 

Ouch! That would stink.

My belt isn't showing signs of wear, I was checking noises and such while I had it off.

I don't want to flush it with new Mercon V if it need work. Already got bit by the ELC bug, LOL.

 

With the shaft float you have, the tension might just keep it straight enough to not tear up the belt. In my case, the pulley was firmly offset, so there was no way that the edge of the belt could avoid being scrubbed continually until it broke.