Power steering pulley out of alignment

Tiny
TECHVETTE
  • MEMBER
  • 2007 CADILLAC ESCALADE
  • 6.2L
  • V8
  • AWD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 140,000 MILES
A few weeks ago, the serpentine belt jumped off.

I replaced both the serpentine and air conditioner belt. When I started the engine, the belt walked back about one rib, riding up onto the middle flange on the crank pulley. Upon further inspection, it appears that the power steering pulley is a few millimeters farther back than the rest of the pulleys that is, it is closer to the block, and not in the same plane as the other pulleys. I believe this is what is causing the belt to move.

Out of desperation, I sprayed some silicone lubricant onto the water pump "pulley", re-positioned the belt, and it stayed in place for a day or so. I believe this lets the belt slip on the (smooth) water pump pulley, compensating for the alignment issue.

My questions are:

1. How can I correct the alignment of the pulley? I can remove and reinstall it easily, but, without some sort of spacer behind the pulley, I will just wind up back where I started. Installing a spacer seems ill-advised, and it is not something I have ever had to do on another vehicle.

2. We bought this car over a year ago, and never had a problem until very recently. That implies (to me) that this is a recent change. What would cause a pulley to shift? How can it shift? The pump is securely bolted to the bracket, and the bracket is securely bolted to the engine. How does this happen?
Monday, July 31st, 2017 AT 8:10 AM

2 Replies

Tiny
HMAC300
  • MECHANIC
  • 48,601 POSTS
Hello,

This happen when the power steering pump needs to be replaced here is a video of the job being done on a similar car check it out with diagrams below on how to do the job on your car.

https://youtu.be/EXDysSOs07g

Check out the diagrams (Below). Please let us know if you need anything else to get the problem fixed.
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Monday, July 31st, 2017 AT 9:48 AM
Tiny
BOOPERIII
  • MEMBER
  • 1 POST
Thank you for this post I had this problem and had to replace the steering pump cost me $131.00 all fixed I love this site.
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Thursday, November 21st, 2019 AT 5:54 PM

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