Power Steering Pump Mounting Bushings

[RedArrow]

Thanks for your instructions! I`ll get to fixing it very soon. I am sure that my belt is not perfectly aligned by now so I`ll have to change the PS Pump mounting bushings. You mentioned alternator bushings as well... I suspect that the steering pump`s front seal is gone too (the pump does leak slowly) so I`ll have to add fluid for now and then find a nice afternoon with 35+ temps... I got confused at the car parts store about the proper power steering fluid. As far as I remember I always used some red/purple looking automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in our d24-s and not the regular power steering fluid. What type (F?) and what brand should I buy? Thanks for confirming.

[ngoma]

Dexron III.

[v8volvo]

Originally Posted by RedArrow

Thanks for your instructions! I`ll get to fixing it very soon. I am sure that my belt is not perfectly alligned by now so I`ll have to change the PS Pump mounting bushings. You mentioned alternator bushings as well... I suspect that the steering pump`s front seal is gone too (the pump does leak slowly) so I`ll have to add fluid for now and then find a nice afternoon with 35+ temps... I got confused at the car parts store about the proper power steering fluid. As far as I remember I always used some red/purple looking automatic transmission fluid (ATF) in our d24-s and not the regular power steering fluid. What type (F?) and what brand should I buy? Thanks for confirming.

Sorry, I wrote alternator bushings by mistake, I meant power steering pump bushings -- must have been too tired when I first typed that message, I just went back and corrected it. 3 new PS pump bushings should be all you need, job is easy, just make sure you note carefully how all the bolts and nuts and washers are stacked and oriented when you take it apart (or better yet take some pictures beforehand), since the setup is different at each of the 3 attachment points and it's not always immediately obvious how it should go back together.

If the pump is seeping then resealing it at the same time as you do the bushings is a good idea, since a leak from that seal lets fluid run down onto your new rubber bushings and degrade them. (Unless you use the blue poly bushings that IPD sells, which are impervious to oil degradation -- but fixing the leak is still a good idea anyway.)

[RedArrow]

Thanks for all your info! I inspected the PS pump and noticed that the lower bushings are in bad shape, cracked and softened, deeply carved in. Especially the front one. That`s probably the reason that the belt is not aligned perfectly. The pump `went downwards` a little, tilting the assembly a bit, putting some extra pressure also on the upper bushing that came out of the hole towards the front of car 3-4mm. The front seal of the pump does leak in the middle area so I will have to get to Autozone asap and get the parts you suggested and do the rebuild. For now as an SOS solution I used the `turkey fluid extractor` and took old fluid out, replaced it with the proper atf. System does not have air in it, no bubbles visible but my steering is not Volvo-like so that tells me what`s going on. Drops on the ground, nothing major but I want this fixed and focus on other treats for the car. Oh btw I did fix the ignition switch as well, well that`s a long story but now it is back and working.

[RedArrow]

I took the 99cents turkey baster and got rid of the majority of fluid of the ps pump.
Filled it up with fresh DexronIII (Peak) ATF and watched for air bubbles after startup. I did not see any air coming out of the system but the steering is still not Volvo-like. After a few days the new ATF did stop 90% of the leak that was caused, I think, by the front seal of pump). I loosened all the ps mounting bushings too and moved the pump around, many times... and tightened them back. The lower bushings are worn, so I will have to replace those. After tightening the belt a bit and changing the position of the bushings (turning them slightly) did help some. I also put a foam-type thick ring on the pump`s `neck`, just under the cap to avoid effects&results of vibration and get some of that ATF held back if a possible leak does happen in the future. Now the belt is not that much misaligned any more but I`ll have to get the new ps mount bushings and also, I will order the kit and reseal the pump hopefully soon. When having this setup removed already, probably I should get a new belt too although it is not (yet) eaten on the edges. What`s the best/suggested/preferred type? Thanks!
Ps. I will flush the ps fluid ( =ATF) again tomorrow, that might help some.

[RedArrow]

Thanks!
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...ier=21419_0_0_
I`ll visit Autozone tomorrow to buy ball joints and various bushings for a friend`s es300. AutoZone's parts search is NOT so dieselVolvo friendly. Would this seal-kit work on the d24t Saginaw pump system??

[RedArrow]

Originally Posted by RedArrow

Thanks!
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...ier=21419_0_0_
Would this seal-kit work on the d24t Saginaw pump system??

A, Time flies! Still having the old seals yet, since they pretty much stopped leaking after I changed the fluid twice. Recently I just replaced the PS bushings again, the belt got aligned, etc. I`d like to order a new, proper belt too (it ran misaligned for some time). Pls send me a link.

B, Staring at the setup, I was just wondering, what happens when/IF the PS belt breaks. Of course you`ll notice/hear/feel that immediately; but is double-trouble possible there? The radiator hose is soo freaking close...it`s near the danger zone. Ideas&stories wanted.

[745 TurboGreasel]

One day my 6.2 Suburban sounded a little labored, then once I got to the top of the mountain and headed down the other side, it overcooled. That was odd, but I went to work and did my job. After work, I think 'I ought to take a peek'.
A little something shiny caught my eye, and there was the alternator belt completely tied in a big knot around the fan clutch
It took a long time to cut the belt out of the fan, but otherwise nothing was hurt. something to be said for vehicles that don't need much electronics.

[RedArrow]

I had time to do these 3 bushings again.

This time they aren`t the URO brand but made by REIN (sent by fcpeuro).

I didn`t see any crack on the bracket which is great news.
I took my time to clean the entire area. The unit leaks a little but it all adds up over time, right? I should `rebuild` it at some point (needs new internal seal).

The most annoying things always been that I could not get the freaking belt run completely straight and flush with the other pulley.
It always has been an issue on this car.

I figured a solution that worked. I think there was some warpage or substantial wear in the lower eyelets of the bracket.
The belt always ran misaligned, new belt and new bushings never fixed it either.

Today I grabbed a file and filed away at the upper hole, made it more straight and tried to figure the best and most efficient angle for a proper alignment of the belt.
At the upper hole I filed the most at the side of the hole which is closer to the engine (=passenger side of the bracket, right right of the car but left as you face cylinder 1). At this upper hole I filed the pass side much more than the driver side. I filed more at the top of the hole and a little at the bottom portion of the hole. I tried creating an angle and a slight tilt. Thinking about the force too that the tightened belt creates on that weak looking arm that holds the reservoir away from the engine.

Then I filed the bottom eyelet/hole and created the same angles by filing most at the top portion and concentrated on the left side of the hole which is the side closer to the engine (passenger side of the car)

By the time these two holes all seemed very much aligned and okay, I reinstalled the reservoir using the 3 new bushings, new washers where needed. I noticed that there are some sides where a washer would limit protrusion and deformation of a wearing bushing in case it wore too much the washer would `hold it in`and wouldnt let it completely deform and climb out of its own shape. I added some.

The project turned out to be really successful and I saw the aligned belt immediately after finishing the assembly.

All in all I probably had to file away 3mm at the very left of the upper hole , 2mm at the right side of same hole and about half of that at the bottom hole. I always adjusted the filing to the driver sides of the holes too but didnt file away much at all at the driver sides.
In my case the upper hole needed the most material taken away and it all became so great. It sits so nice and never been that aligned and holding strong and nearly zero vibration which wasnt the case even with the recent new bushings earlier. Grabbing the reservoir by the top and trying to force it out of the way but I could not. Super stubborn now, it improved by a lot. the front faces of those 3 holes were definitely not flush with each other. And all of that was visible.

What came out:
The old bushings that I removed were not completely toast but
the upper one was super hard and really deformed, took the shape of the wrong angle of the front face of the upper hole of the bracket.
The bottom two bushings were in bad shape too but not hardened rather they became too soft, prob worn away by fluid, mist of oil and atf that seeped out of the reservoir as fluid leak through several years.
The front bottom bushing was prob in the worst shape. The rear lower bushing was trying to hold but disintegrated and started to split around the larger edge. Created mostly by the pull caused by unnecessary misalignment.

By filing at the bracket I created a really nice angle that lets the belt stay aligned even if you overtightened the belt so much that it pulls super hard against the slotted adjusting bracket/arm (just a test).

This small touch up will definitely help it hold against the crazy vibration and heat we have under the hood.

Basically what I did was achieving a microscopic lol clockwise vertical `twist` in the reservoir vs the old position on the ps bracket... And a few degrees tilt at its top (towards the rear of the car) and some tilt at the bottom eyelet hole too, all of these obviously in synchro and level with each other. The changes are so minimal that it wont affect anything, instead it got so much better indeed, I wish i did this many years ago!

[Swallowedhook]

Tom Bryant in Maine is the guy most English go to as the D24T guru.
thosbryant@gmail.com / https://thosbryant.wordpress.com/ I'm new to the engine and was referred by an English guy. Tom will explain to you that the power steering bracket is poorly designed and most will fail eventually. He designed a new bracket and had it cast in aluminum and machined. He made 20 of them and spread the set up cost across those 20. Not cheap, but a permanent fix. He also rebuilds the cruise control spool so it is not subject to adverse vibration. Many many fixes on his blog. He replied to my newbie questions with 3 LONG emails, explaining concisely the issues causes, and fixes. For those who haven't read his blog, he's a great resource. He's an old fart like me. Got to pick the brains of these boomers so the info isnt lost to time....especially since the BOOMER DOOMER virus is stalking us old guys.
Best of luck!