There has to be more to the story we don't know yet. Most power steering pump pulleys are rather easy to bend with a small pry bar, but if that occurred with the generator replacement, the wobble would have showed up back then. Your engine uses a spring-loaded tensioner pulley. In rare instances they can develop rusted pivot points, but usually that results in insufficient tension on the belt. You might check that you can move it freely, but even if it's rusted and holding the belt too tight, I find it hard to believe that would put enough pressure on the power steering pulley to bend it. I should have asked how much of a wobble you're seeing? 1/16" out of line can set up a horrendous belt squeal, but that is constant. The ticking you're hearing might be that squeal that only occurs at the spot where the belt doesn't line up with the ribs on the pulley.
The pulling problem is more likely a separate problem with its own cause. Is there any history or observations that led up to that? If it started suddenly, the two best suspects are a tire with a broken belt, or something is broken related to one of the front struts. With a broken tire belt, to pull as bad as you described, there will be thumping as the wheel rotates, and an oscillation in the steering wheel, once per wheel revolution. If you think that's a possibility, wait for me to describe better what to look for, to avoid cutting your hands. A broken tire belt can be less severe and cause a pull with no thumping. That, and mismatched tires, can cause unequal rolling resistance and a pull. To identify that, switch the two front tires side-to-side. If the pull goes the other way now, or is gone, suspect the tires.
The best clue to something broken in the suspension system is the steering wheel is off-center. That can be hard to tell when you're fighting the pull by turning it the other way. Look for the vehicle and the steering wheel to turn to the right on their own as you drive slowly through a parking lot.
A less-common suspect for a pull on your model is a brake pull. The best clue there is it often goes away while you're braking, then the pull comes back when you release the brakes. One potential way to identify that is to feel each front wheel after a drive at highway speed for a few miles. If one is considerably hotter than the other one, we have to look closer at the brakes.
Depending on what you find, I might have to ask you to start a new question for one of the topics. We do that because these get categorized by model and by topic to make it easier for others researching similar problems to learn your solutions. A second topic won't show up on any list. Also, unlike on other forums where anyone can jump in and confuse the issue, here the two of us are in a private conversation. As such, none of the other experts will see the new topic or have a chance to reply. I know it's hard to believe, but for some topics, we have other experts more qualified than me! They may be better able to help you as quickly as possible.
Let me know what you find up to this point.
Thursday, January 8th, 2026 AT 10:05 PM
