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so the belt on my truck was vibrating several months back, i looked around and didnt see any thing too out of the ordinary. i replaced the belt and tensioner, belt was about ready, and tensioner was seperating slightly. that did help but did not fix the problem. before i could get a chance to look into it again, it threw the new belt. i put it back on, came right off on start up. what i found was the bottom power steering pump bolt had came loose out to the pulley and snapped off. so i fixed all that and put it and back together, done, smooth as could be. well now the vibration is starting to come back, i notice it most at a stop, in gear, and the more i press on the brake the more defined it gets.
any help would be great!!
I would suspect the powersteering pump. If you have somebody turn your steering wheel with the truck running while you look at the ps pump, you would notice the vibration too. Something must be going on if the pulley bolt broke. Take the belt off and see if you can wiggle the ps pump pulley. Any aeration in the ps fluid when the truck is running,after turning the steering wheel from lock to lock ?
What brand of belt are you using? Some of them are more prone to vibrating then others. The autozone belt I put on would vibrate like crazy on both sides of the PS pump. Switched to a Goodyear Gatorback belt and all is well again. I'm sure the belt vibrating like that is pissing off the bearings in the PS pump. Do what StrokedRanchero said and see if you can wiggle the pulley. If you cant, try the new belt before you sink your money into a new pump.
i think it is an auto zone belt. the only play in the pump is endplay, about 1/8th inch. spins smooth and bearings feel good. sometimes at a standstill it lacks any assist, either a little throttle or roll a little and its back, but its always been like that?
Mine has the end play too. The lack of assist at a stop is a combination of lack of pressure from low rpm's, the fact that you're on the brake using up pressure, and the front of our trucks are so dang heavy that it takes so much force to turn it.
Give the gatorback belt a try. Autozone carries them and IIRC, they're not that much more. It won't help with turning while stopped, but should help with the noise a little.
good to know on those belts because I'll be replacing mine soon just because I hear it squeaking and all I want to dear is the motor, not the squeaking.