not good, need some help fellas!
 

Hi guys,
Well, I got in my truck today and pulled out. I noticed no power steering at all!!! Then I hit the brakes. HA!!!! No brakes either.
So I pulled the truck over and found the belt bunched up around the fan but still in tact. I was expecting a broken belt.
I started looking around and found the power steering pump laying down at the bottom with both bracket arms sheered in half!!!!
Everything is intact, just the bracket is broken that hold the power steering/ air pump/ ac compressor!!!!!
Where can I get one??? Anyone of you guys have one of those brackets for sale??
I hope this sucker comes out of the motor easy!!!! The bolts gettign the AC compressor off where a little bit of a bear!
Any online shops sell those brackets?? I hate to purchase one from the dealer! Could be pricey!!!
Thank you guys!:-drink

Can you post a pic? That sounds crazy to shear that cast piece.

Have yall checked your pullies to see which one locked up? I would guess any kind of pully seizing would destroy that belt though.

I would guess your PS pump locked up and the belt twisted it out of the bracket and then fell where you located it.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1994-Ford-7-3-Power-Steering-Bracket-/281140630145?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item4175499281&vxp=mtr

Part shows about $250 from the dealer.

That sucks. I agree you better look a little deeper cause there is no reason for that bracket to get sheered off. Its on with 4 bolts once you pull the A/C compressor, one of them is hidden a bit. Just pulled mine off to change pumps 2 weeks ago. There must be a bunch in junk yards. That's where I would start.

Hi guys,
Thanks for the input! Checked all pulleys and power steering ump. All are fine. 301,000 miles I would guess just fatigue. I will certainly double check everything once I get the rest of it out tomorrow morning.
Thanks!

Hey, you got a truck that looks like one here in spring hill where i'm at.....


hmmmmm

Can't miss that color combo in a quad cab.

Can I have the power steering bracket off of it? LOL

Power steering bracket is aluminum! Thats pretty much sums up the breakage! But at over 300,000 its all good. I will find another one!
Thanks guys!

That is not an uncommon issue. I have sold every one of the brackets I had to guys who have had them break.

Hmm, wonder if they break in mostly the same spot. Might be an interesting project opportunity, to fab a reinforcement that would prevent it breaking.

Actually, could anyone post a pic of where theirs broke? Might be good to know where to inspect for any warning signs.....

I was thinking the same.

If all the pulleys are still free then it almost has to be a fatigue failure. Aluminum doesn't have a fatigue limit like steel does. I'm interested in seeing some pictures too. As they say, Pics or it didn't happen!

Update guys:
3 bolts hold the power steering pump to the bracket. One bolt was sheered clean off in the hole! The other 2 where hand tight! So, I attribute this to the bolts coming lose over the years more then likely!
Aluminum is nowhere near as strong as steel. Much much softer. I will post some pics soon. Still getting here back together.
I found a used bracket with power steering pump attatched for 125.00. I had to remove the power steering pump pulley to get the pump off the bracket. That takes a special tool.
I then swapped out the pumps and re-installed the pulley. Just checked over the vacuum pump. All bolts are tight and it looks good!
Cleaning my bolts now to re-install bracket! I will take some pics. CHECK YOUR BOLTS! THATS ALL THAT IS NEEDED! Mine lasted 301,000 miles and a failure occurred due to loose bolts.

must be that local guy here, i have not seen his truck up at lowes where he works in a while.

Update:
Truck is back up and running! And I am happy to report she steers better then ever! And new Power Steering/ Trans fluid in the pump!
No leaks that I can see as of yet. Here's a pic of the bracket with everything but the AC compressor on top
http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x...ps885854c8.jpg