Hola!

Been searching around for this forever and then found the forum so I'm hoping someone can give me a hint.

I've got a 99 dodge ram and the power steering pump went out. Replaced it, but now even using the pulley installation tool from Autozone I can't seem to get the pulley on all the way. It's probably 1/8 inch too far out and I can't seem to make further progress. The whole thing has been a frustration since it's taken untold numbers of "rounds" with the installation tool to get it even that far.

I noticed that when I'm cranking on the tool, the pulley spins. Granted, I'm pretty new to working on my own car but I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to do that so I suspect that's the problem. Google tells me a lot of people solve this problem by either jamming the pulley with a screwdriver or having someone hold it while they crank the tool. My pulley is solid with no spokes, so I can't jam it and tried to have my husband hold the pulley while I wrenched the tool around and that was a no-go either... the pulley really wanted to move with the tool.

So, am I missing something? Is there a trick? Everything I see online says that this should be a relatively simple step but I think between my husband and I we have spent several hours cranking at this just to get it to go this far.

On the upshot, everything else works and is fine, new pump works great, but the misaligned pulley is gonna kill the serpentine belt if I try to drive with it.

 

You have to keep the pulley from spinning obviously, but I think you may have some dirt or the pulley was cocked some when you originally started and a burr is causing a problem. Take the pulley back off and inspect it and the shaft.

 

Pull the pump and take it to a store to find a long bolt that will thread in the shaft. Then, get a large nut that will clear the shaft but will push on the pulley. After that, get a large, thick washer or two and then a nut that threads onto the bolt. Installation goes like this - Bolt, nut, washer (washer), large bolt - and then thread the bolt into the shaft. Reinstall the pump and devise a way to hold the pulley. The trick is that the threaded nut "tightens", or pushes against the washer(s) and large nut to push the pulley onto the shaft. If the pulley is not aligned the belt will get shredded in no time (I've been there).

If you haven't done so, download a copy of the Field Service Manual (it's in the FAQs) and it'll show the special tool used to reinstall the pulley and how to check for the correct alignment.

Good luck.

 

Something doesn't seem right here. If you're using the same Autozone tool I used the pulley shouldn't be able to turn. You're using a wrench to turn the nut and a socket or another wrench to hold the bolt end correct?

 

Yea , something wrong with the AZ tool. The nut is bottoming out on the shaft. I should have read the OP better, but I've replaced quite a few and the pump always comes with the installation bolt, nut, etc.... That's what I thought she was talking about.

 

Okay well that makes me feel a little better, in that I KNEW something was off. I'm using a socket wrench to hold the bolt end in place and a wrench to crank the nut. It does seem like what zman is saying too, that it's bottoming out.

The Haynes manual instructs to put the pulley on after installing the new pump, but I know a lot of people install the pulley right onto the pump and then install the whole shebang so maybe I'll just pull it all out and take it back to Autozone and make sure it gets done while I'm there. My husband was the one who removed the pulley, but he said it was really difficult so maybe there's just something off with that tool set, since my impression is that it was supposed to be pretty simple to remove and reinstall with the proper tools.

 

i hate those tools lol iv had a similar problem before and the pulley came off just fine but would not go back on all the way just got too tight as it got close. now my problem was that the tool borrowed was actually slightly bent almost unnoticable but enough to put the pulley at a slight angle and make it a pain in the *** to get back on i would see if you can get your hands on another tool

 

Well, we were able to fix it! Was gonna go in tomorrow to get another tool but my hubby had the brilliant idea of putting the serpentine belt back ON the pulley thinking the friction from the belt woven in with all the other pulleys would hold it stable while we wrenched the nut to push in the pulley. Looks like it worked pretty well We then started & ran the engine for a good 5 minutes and didn't see any tracking off from the belt, and it looks aligned to the naked eye.

Thanks you guys for your help!

 

Always feels good to fix things

 

That's the way it's done. Good job.