Replaced Alternator, now power steering belt won't turn?!?! Please help ASAP!

[lhhc]

my alternator died, so I replaced it today, got everything hooked back up, started up the car, and the belt thats around the power steering pully doesn't turn.....

I took the PS pump out to get to the alternator, so the power steering belt was removed.
Then I un-tensioned the alternator belt, let it hang, and replaced the alternator. Put the alternator belt back on, tensioned it, then put the PS pump back in and put the PS belt back on and tensioned it. Am I doing something wrong? or did I miss something?

Help ASAP would be GREATLY appreciated, I need to drive this car to work in the morning!

Thanks!
Joe
AIM - lhhc30

 

[Prez]

You may not have got enuff tension on the PS Pump. Use a giant pry bar to pull the PS pump towards you then tighten the bolts at the same time.

 

[lhhc]

Theres definetly enough tension on the PS belt, I used a big ass open end wrench to tension it, then tightened the bolts. Plus, if it was just not tensioned enough, the pully on the motor would still spin, and would squeal the belt wouldn't it?

Is it possible that the PS pump and the pulley on the motor are not in perfect alignment? By the way, what the hell is that pulley on the motor that corresponds with the power streering belt so I can actually refer to it correctly?

Thanks,
Joe
AIM during the day - lhhc d0m1n0
[email protected]

 

[LaserDad91]

Are you sure the Alternator belt is correctly installed to drive the power steering pulley/belt?

 

[lhhc]

the alternator belt turns fine. On the motor, the pulleys seem to be connected or something...?? the alternator one and the PS one...?? well the alternator one spins, but the PS pump one doesn't. are they connected, or are they supposed to spin independantly?

 

[LaserDad91]

Mine is a 1G and they appear to be connected, never really checked it out. Maybe you should remove the belts and check the pulleys and see.

 

[lhhc]

I just stopped and got new belts cause the current ones are fuct, been slipping and squealing for like 5-6 months.....so they're D.E.A.D Once I get them off, I'll check the pulleys and make sure the PS pump bracket is put back in exactally how it same off, and make sure the PS pump is properly aligned....which I don't know how I'm going to do...but it should be pretty standard to put back on. I'll update the thread later tonight after I get all this done.

 

[lhhc]

Ok, got the belts replaced and everything all hooked up and whatnot. Yeah, stupid battery is too dead to start it since I had to drive it home and the battery died just as I was pulling into the driveway a few days ago. Anyways, charging up the jumper pack and will try to jump it in the morning, I'll update then.

 

[LaserDad91]

I just stopped and got new belts cause the current ones are fuct, been slipping and squealing for like 5-6 months.....so they're D.E.A.D Once I get them off, I'll check the pulleys and make sure the PS pump bracket is put back in exactally how it same off, and make sure the PS pump is properly aligned....which I don't know how I'm going to do...but it should be pretty standard to put back on. I'll update the thread later tonight after I get all this done.

Try this, used to align snowmobile clutches. Get some bar stock or all tread and lay it inside the grooves of the pulley (if possible). Then measure the distance between the pulley and the “reference” on both sides of the pulley, but, from the same "surface" of the pulley. (ie, engine side, and outer (car) side). Bar stock is better, easier to measure with than a round rod. If one is greater than the other, they are not aligned. Generally, I eyeball it with the belt on, if it bad, you will see it.

 

[lhhc]

Well, I let the jumper pack thing charge all night, then tried to jump the car.....would not start. I left it on the battery for a few minutes to try to give it a little bit of a charge, and still woudln't start. In the past, I've never had to let the jumper sit on the battery for more time that it took me to walk over to the door and start it.

Could my battery be COMPLETELY dead? Might I need to replace my battery? I ran the battery to nearly dead 2 times since Monday. First when I noticed the problem and had to pull over on the highway, then when I went and got the car, I charged it with a friend's car, enough to drive it home, and it died again when I got home......could this be the problem? Also, my CEL is on cause my EGR hose came off last week, but the code didn't clear before all this crap started happening, so maybe I need to have the CEL codes pulled to see if something else is wrong. I'll update again later when I get home.


Thanks,
Joe

 

[lhhc]

All fixed! w00t! brought the battery to Auto Zone so they could match it up with a new one, they threw it on the tester, held 3.8V....yeah, little low. They chraged it for an hour and tested it again, held 11.4V, little better. So the battery was still good, so I threw it back in the car and it started right up. PS pulley was squealing like a bi***! then started smoking hardcore...shut off the car and tensioned the belt a little more, same result when I started it up again.

Then I noticed that the bolt on the right side of the PS pump mouting bracet was rubbing against the left side of the PS pump pully.....heated up the pully ULTRA hot, causing the belt to smoke.....so aligned the pump better and tensioned it more so taht the pully would clear the bolt....BOOM, fixed....

Thank for everyones input...helped a ton!

Joe