Power steering pump adjustment

[Jim Wulf]

So I've been working on Birds for quite awhile now - 45 years actually. The first was the '63 Patrician Green convertible I owned while in college and drove for several years after.

In all that time, the only way I've ever figured out to adjust the power steering pump was by using a floor jack with a piece of 2 x 3 cut to the appropriate length, jacking it up from underneath. Even then it's difficult to get a good spot on the pump to rest the 2 x 3 because the radiator hose is in the way, and it's just plain awkward.

I know that there are some folks who would take a pry bar and wedge it between the body and pump and try and lever it up that way - but I'm not about to do that for obvious reasons.

Ford probably had a tool for this, but I've never seen it. Sometime in the past I recall seeing a belt adjuster that worked by resting to "shoes" on the pulleys, and then expanded by turning an adjustment screw. Even if I could find one of those, which I can't, I'm not so sure it would fit in the limited space that's available.

Somebody probably has a simple solution or tool for this, but I sure can't figure out what it is.

[novanutcase]

BROTHER? I hear ya on that one! I had to become an octopus contortionist to try and tighten up my pump belt so I'm gonna sit back and read all the different ways people have attempted to do this in the most efficient manner possible!!

John

[Brian Harris]

A quality strap (wrapped in flannel or silk skarf of course) with loops on ends, and a come-along or hoist pulling from a proper upward angle?

Me... I've only ever used a well wrapped angled-tip prybar... 1/4" thick felt pads at both contact points. Never noticed a damage or maring.

I'm intrigued thou by some adaptation of a reverse turnbuckle.

Brian

[Joe Johnston]

Turnbuckle you say???
I saw the tool Jim mentioned and made this many years ago.
Home made, crude, but effective - at least on my Y-block's alternator . The FE pump pivoits and swings up to tighten with the mounting bracket, so once the special 1 X 3 is cut, that would probably be the better way. Regardless there isn't as much room as there is under the hood of the 57.

[smorgasbird]

Jim, I had to laugh when I read that you used a 2 x 3 and a floor jack to adjust the power steering belt. I do it exactly the same way! In fact I keep the 2 x 3 in the trunk and it's marked "PS belt adjuster".
Looking forward to reading how others have solved the problem.

[timewarped1972]

an appropriate lenth of broom handle works well with less maring or scratching. or use shop rags and electrical tape wrapped around somthing similar can work well too.

harbor freight sells those tools for cheap cheap (they used to) and you could modify it fairly easily if needed. can't remember what they are called try typing in belt tension tool or somthing similar. i have one. crude but they do work.

[Yeti Man]

Being an oilfield hand, I just use a big prybar. I put out on it just enough to get the belt very, very tight, but not enough to break something. If there are any marks left behind......I can't see them while I'm cruising.....

[Ozzy351]

The link below has got quite a few self made gadgets including a nice belt tensioning tool (bottom of page) which is along the same lines as Joe's. Not sure if it's home made or store bought but being made from plastic or nylon, it's not going to do any damage.

http://www.ucosm.com/helicopter/tools.htm

Ozzy.

[surfmurf]

I use a Bottle Jack from underneath. Learned that from the Vintage Thunderbird Shop in Pinellas Park, Fl. Sorry, Don finally retired a few months ago, but his idea works just fine. Matter of fact - I'll be doing it again in a few minutes. I just lost track of the hole the adjusting bolt anchors into and my manual doesn't show it. Old age is only for the Brave.
Had to replace the Water Pump and lower Radiator Hose. Both are a bear. Have had my '63 for 20 years now and am still learning it. Replacing the cracked Dash was the hardest job, so far.

[Jim Wulf]

It's been a couple years since this thread was in discussion, but I haven't forgotten about it, mainly because I deal with this issue every other month or so.

Well, I've found something I really like (on a pretty substandard car I saw at Carlisle). It still uses the turnbuckle approach, but it's pulling instead of pushing, and there's a relatively large amount of room to install/use it in this particular location. It could be mounted permanently "as is" on a non-concourse car, or used as a temporary tool with just a little modification to the upper mount and lower hook.





For a temporary tool, the lower hook could be changed to a hex socket to slip over the PS pump bolt and the upper mount could be changed to an "L" shaped bracket to rest on and pull against the top of the AC bracket. And of course you would need an AC car for it to work at all. But I like the concept.

The engineers out there can come up with a better design than mine for the temporary tool I'm sure, and someone can probably easily solve the problem for a car with no AC.

[Bungalocity]

HI!!!
:-D

[Bungalocity]

Time to resurrect this thread.

OK so I want or need some clarification on this.
I take a jack (long enough to get under engine area) and cut a 2x4 long enough to hit the bottom of PS pump...
then that alone will tighten as needed?
As soon as I loosened the 2 bolts on bracket a HAIR, I pushed down on pump, and slipped the old thing right over the pulleys, and new one in place.

But the Alt belt went very loose now too. And I'm suspecting that the noise may have been from that, even though it appears very new.

I'll try it and this is good stuff.