The power steering is making noises so I'm swapping out the power-steering pump. The replacement I ordered from Napa arrived but it was so beaten up that even the fellow behind the counter agreed that he wouldn't put the "new" one in his car. So I bought the power-steering pulley puller kit and figured I'd have everything ready to swap when the latest "new" pump arrives tomorrow.
But there's a catch. My pulley does not have the "lip" around the collar that allows the standard GM pulley puller to grab onto. This means there's no way to get a grip on the area that you need to get a grip on to pull the pulley. I've attached a picture of my pulley below.
My Eldorado is an A/C California car that no longer has the AIR pump. I'm wondering if the person who removed the AIR pump (decades ago) modified the power steering placement to make the belt line up? I don't know because I have nothing to compare it to. All of the pics I've found online look like they have a normal (grooved) power-steering pulley.
I would like to reuse the pulley I have. How can I pull it, though?
Thanks!
Cancel the alert! :-)
I found a video that showed power steering pump pulley removal for mid-60s Pontiacs. Like the Cadillac, the Pontiac power steering pulley had a Woodruff key. When I saw this guy pop the pulley off with his fingers, I gave mine another shot.
https://youtu.be/XAbyckTOrx8
Mine didn't pop off so easily. But once I gently tapped the pump shaft with a plastic hammer, the pulley decided to slide off. My Free The Pulley campaign was a success!
Now I'm back to hoping that Napa hands over a decent power steering pump tomorrow morning.
Good luck. Let us know how it turns out. Hopefully it won't turn out to be 3rd time from a more expensive specialty vendor is the charm. I would hang onto your original even if there is a core charge in case the new one turns out to be crap. If you have the original at least getting it rebuilt will be an option.
Thanks!
There are pumps with a "fat" reservoir (like mine) and there are pumps with a "skinny" reservoir (like the one they had). All the bolt holes and fittings line up, however, so they contend that there's no difference.
The main problem with the one they tried to give me was that it had obviously been flopping around loose inside a box that hadn't exactly seen kid-gloves treatment. The input pipe was badly bent. So badly bent that unbending it wasn't an option.
I made the sales guy chuckle when I said, "I might bolt that into a Chevy, but this is for a … CADILLAC!" :-)
Only problem wuth the skinny vs fat reservoir is that your dipstick mite be off. Worth checking.
Jeff
The new power-steering pump arrived, nicely packed. It has the skinny reservoir but it looks OK.
I asked about dipstick accuracy and the sales guy said it should be OK. He also asked if my Eldorado had a manual or an automatic, so I'm not considering him to be a Cadillac maintenance expert. :-)
We'll see what happens.
Thanks!
Getting back to your question, it should slide off keyway after the nut is removed, but they get contankerous with age. If you don't have an impact, it's tough to break the nut with leverage because it's tough to hold the pulley/keep shaft from spinning without damage. I use a strap wrench or strap vice with impact, if I can't hand hold it.
Once nut off, it may take a bit of soaking and cleaning first.
Be careful with a puller out on the pulley, if the center isn't budging, some are not steel - check with a magnet first - you'll easily deform the pulley.
Things to try, if stuck. Block pulley and tap shaft away from pulley tapping on the key, a small round punch down the keyway. Careful tapping from behind sometimes helps get it started but not from pry pressure on the tin can reservoir or seal area if you need to keep/core. But if your not saving pump just to get the pulley free? Block the pump, snake a curved scraper or tool in to the center core and lightly tap outward. Some are not accessible from behind. I do not like heat for this job. You just need to get it started moving, don't beat on it. I've done circa '67 GM moons ago much closer to new off the front with no issue. If it's completely stuck, easier and quicker to get a new pulley.
ps: I never understood why they don't sell new pulleys at the parts store with the pump. Some bean counter policy(less inventory?). You have to get from a pulley supplier????
Be very wary of Cardone rebuilt pumps from NAPA. I went through three on a similar year Tornado and never got a good one. These pumps are simple to rebuild and kits are still readily available-might be your best bet.
Bpowell
I used a cheap (Harbor Freight) electric impact wrench to remove the pulley nut. I originally bought the impact wrench to remove the alternator pulley. The wrench, even though it is definitely not a heavy-duty model, made removing both the alternator and power steering pulley nuts easy.
I then hit the power steering pump shaft with some PB Blaster and let it sit overnight. The pulley still didn't respond to trying to remove it by hand. So I got a power-steering pulley puller from NAPA.
Then I saw that Pontiac video I posted earlier in which he *did* remove the pulley by hand. So I got out my plastic hammer and gently but persistently tapped on the shaft for a while. Pretty soon the pulley started to move. With more gentle tapping, the pulley finally came loose.
I am concerned about the lifespan of this replacement pump, but at least there are lots of pumps and rebuilding kits to be had. And now I've got all the pertinent tools.
Thanks!
Hi. How did the Cardone pump work out? I am going through the exact same process on my 66. Can't get the pulley off, mangled it, now gotta find a new one.
All - I want to say I boiled my pulley to get it to go on and that's all it took. I marked the key on the spindle with some white-out, boiled the pulley in a pot and tapped the pulley easily back in place with a rubber mallet. I did clean the inside of the pulley with a wire brush made for copper pipe but it went on very easily. No need to bake it.
SO, on to my new question - what are the open bolt holes on the pump for that lie behind the pulley? I pulled this all apart a month ago and the shop manual does not address them. Please see photos. Do they need a bolt or just sit there open? I believe that is the deal but I have time to sit and listen to you guys.
Hello sdownie,
I was about to send you my '67 pump rebuild thread, then I saw your alert cancellation. Kent Moore made a special tool for removing the pulley. I tried duplicating the tool without success. My pulley was quite stubborn to remove so I pressed it off the shaft with my press.
Varooom - I believe the "extra" holes in the face of the pump are so the pump can be used with different brackets on other GM models. I installed short bolts in my pump to keep grease/dirt from getting in the holes.
Respectfully submitted,
Christopher Winter
Here is the Power Steering puller I made.
The solid ring goes over the hub first, then the split ring fits around the lugs of the hub, and the ring then lifts and encompasses the split ring.
Then the Puller is attached and with the round bar, presses the central shaft rearwards.
The last two pictures show the underside of the contraption.
Bruce. >:D