for the life of me i have no idea how to get belt on. the power steering pump has no tensioner that i can see and i goin nuts or what

 

Welcome to the site! There are adjustment bolts, but I don't know if I can describe them without looking at the pump! If someone else doesn't walk you through it first I'll try to get the details for you tomorrow evening. John

 

The nut is above and behind the pulley.

In this picture, it's the rusty bolt visible against the backdrop of black-painted parts.


Look under there - you'll see (or feel) a curved hole, with a bolt somewhere along it, clamping the pump in place. Turn it with an open-end wrench.

- Eric

 

Eric, I thougth there was a bolt in the back that also needed to be loosened to move the pump.

One thing I am sure of, once the pump is loose resist the temptation to put a big screwdriver in between the pump and motor and reef on it to tighten the belt. If your not careful you can damage the pump reservoir. Don't ask me how I know that John

 

holy crap, thank you thank you!

 

I think there is a hole in the pulley to put a socket thru.

 

Good point - I forgot about that one (and I just did this last month).


Yeah. I think I might have just grabbed the filler neck with my hand and pulled. It doesn't need a ton of pressure, especially with new belts.

Oh. Yeah. Duh.

But it's got to be lined up, which is easy with the belt off, but with it on, I found it easier to just grab an open-end wrench.


- Eric

 

Not a dumb question at all!

Pump body (reservoir) will damage easily!

I think there is a metal tab on the front so you can pry the tab against the pump SHAFT to tension it. Get the belt snug but not tight. 1/2" downwards deflection when belt is depressed with your finger. Then tighten bolts.

Tension alternator belt afterwards.

 

Pump body is plastic - will break easy!

Huh? Not on a '72..

 

There were some pullys that don't have holes in the front, if you have one of those Eric's suggestion of an open end wrench works well.

In 1972 it was still metal, but it dents/crushes easily. As the others said be careful when you put tension on it.

John

 

No way, José!

(not to beat a dead horse or anything... )

- Eric

 

I must be thinking of the one on my 86. I knew it was easy to damage though, so i treat both like plastic...

 

There is some bad info in this thread.

First, NO Olds V8 (prior to the Aurora) ever used a PS pump with a plastic reservoir.

Second, there are THREE fasteners that must be loosened to adjust the belt, two bolts behind the pulley and the one nut at the bottom rear of the pump.

Third, to properly tension the belt, look down between the pulley and the front of the pump. You will see a tab on the front bracket that is parallel to the nose of the pump. Use a large screwdriver or a pry bar to lever between this tab and the nose of the pump. This is the only way to properly tension the belt without crushing the thin metal reservoir.

 

Thank you for the information. I had no ideal how to find that adjustment bolt.
1971 Cutlass Supreme 350 with Air-conditioning.

My car is equipped with a double pulley on the PS-pump. This type of pulley does not have any access holes for a socket. So I used a wrench to access the adjusting bolt. I removed the alternator to make it easier to tighten the PS-pump belt.

In the first picture, I painted the bolt with whiteout to make it easier to see (72420.
In the second shot shows the placement of the 9/16 wrench and the screwdriver being used as a tightening lever between the shaft and the bracket tab (actually need a longer screwdriver, 7255).

I looked at the picture provided by MDchanic; it seems that on a 455 you have more room between the pump and the pulley than on a 350.

 

The pumps, pulleys, and brackets are exactly the same. Any difference is an optical illusion.

 

Especially since the engine in my picture is a 260 !

- Eric

 

I have a wrench that I ground down a little thinner so as not to scratch anything. Service manual says to loosen the pressure hose to install the belt, but I find it much easier to just remove brace for a minute. Why disturb something that can start leaking.