Power steering pump pulley

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Dec 27, 2017 | 04:21 PM

blairsie

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Power steering pump pulley

Is it possible to have the power steering pump pulley pressed too far in. My 93 4.9 is eating belts (down to 4 ribs.) the belt is riding the inside four grooves on all the other pulleys and the outside four on the steering. I used a metal straight edge and all the other pulleys are lined up. I've replaced the water pump 3 months ago, the power steering pump about a year ago and the alternator about 5 years ago. The ac compressor and smog pump are original. I replaced the tensioner with a used motorcraft off a 96 about two years ago. The belt problem just happened when I decided to put a new one on to replace the on that was there when I bought the truck. It didn't look problematic, it had just been too long.

Dec 27, 2017 | 04:25 PM

My4Fordtrucks

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Yes. It is.

Dec 28, 2017 | 12:01 PM

DPDISXR4Ti

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For reasons I've never fully understood, the 4.9 seems more prone to throwing belts than any other engine I've owned or worked on. That said, the tensioner is the first thing I'd look at, especially given that the problem started after replacing it.

The other thing you can do is get an idler pulley that has a retainer "fence" on both sides of the grooved area. I run one of these and haven't had a thrown belt since making the change.

Dec 28, 2017 | 05:45 PM

blairsie

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The idler pulley does have the fence on it. It's off a later model truck. After messing with it all evening yesterday, it's clear that the replacement power steering pump has a shorter shaft than the OEM. If I pull it out so that it's perfectly even with all the other pulleys on the belt, it'll be hanging 1/4" off the shaft. Thats not gonna work. I have a back up belt with 4 ribs on it now and it's working for the time being. I'll play with it more on my next days off ( whenever that may be).

Dec 29, 2017 | 09:47 AM

DPDISXR4Ti

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From: New York

Quote:

Originally Posted by blairsie

it's clear that the replacement power steering pump has a shorter shaft than the OEM.

Interesting. I wonder what pump you got there? Might be a good time to consider going with a Saginaw out of a E150.

Jan 7, 2018 | 10:11 AM

blairsie

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Ok. Problem solved. I think. Got a puller, pulled the PS pulley out about a 1/16. Noticed in the process that there is about 3/16 axial play in the pulley. Cussed roundly for about 10 minutes, then looked to see if that's normal. Apparently it is. It's to allow the pulley to float slightly so that the belt stays lined up. So a combination of me pressing the pulley slightly on too far and putting the belt on with that play all the way in threw the whole thing enoug out of alignment to shred the belt. Over and over again.
This time, I shimmed the pulley so it stayed in the middle of that "float" when I installed the new belt. That, along with correcting my earlier mistake seems to have done the trick. We'll see.
If anyone reading this sees me making a stupid mistake in what I did here, don't hesitate to reach out with a solid textual slap so I know what's what. Thanks to all that replied, I appreciate the help.

Jan 7, 2018 | 12:28 PM

DPDISXR4Ti

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From: New York

I still stand by my position of upgrading to the Saginaw pump. I'm doing so on my Ford 2.3 engine as well, which doesn't even have an easy option for upgrade since no 2.3 bracket exists for the Saginaw. Did I mention how much I dislike the C2 pump that Ford put on most everything throughout the '80's and 90's???