Chuffling/Warbling Power Steering Pump Belt?

[Alex Kowalski]

Thanks, I'll do that next.  The pulley doesn't seem to be oscillating, but I need to investigate this, because the alignment is definitely out of whack by a couple of mm.  The hydraulic pump is the only major component that has been changed out on the car -- with a rebuilt unit and a new high-pressure hose.

New twist:  I seized the opportunity to give the car a leg-stretch last night, on a piece of deserted highway, starting with a max-effort run through the gears and at least 30 seconds of running WOT in fifth.  :)  Then a few pulls in top gear, just to keep the turbo warm.  All was shipshape except for a very minor vibration from a wheel that needs to be rebalanced.  New tires coming in the Spring, anyway.  

The upshot was that afterward, I parked for a few minutes at idle to let everything cool down, and -- the chuffling/warbling noise was almost *completely* gone.  The idle was almost showroom-new quiet.  Time to break out stethy the stethoscope listen a little harder at the next startup.

Cheers,
Alex Kowalski
'87 5KCSTQ


> Message: 9
> Date: Sun, 13 Feb 2005 05:37:02 -0500
> From: Kneale Brownson <knotnook at traverse.com>
> Subject: Re: Chuffling/Warbling Power Steering Pump Belt?
> To: akowalsk at comcast.net (Alex Kowalski), quattro at audifans.com
> Message-ID: <4.1.20050213052940.00b843f0 at traverse.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
> 
> Try pulling out on the pulley to see if it is moving in and out, Alex.
> Could be a sign the pulley hub wasn't pressed onto the shaft properly.
> There isn't really any adjustment in the bracket unless someone has
> modified it.  The pulley on the V8 pumps has shims under it to align it
> with the multiple pulleys and idlers the Serpentine belt travels over, but
> those shouldn't be necessary on the pumps for other models.  Two or three
> mms would be quite a few shims, I'd think.
> 
> 
> At 04:36 AM 2/13/2005 +0000, Alex Kowalski wrote:
> 
> 
> >
> >However, I did also notice that the pulley for the hydraulic pump is 
> >slightly out-of-plane with the crankshaft pulley - about 2-3 millimeters by 
> >eyeball, which causes the pump belt to deflect slightly as it goes around 
> >the pulley -- you can see it bend clearly.  To correct it, I would have to 
> >bring the pump toward the front of the car by about the same amount.  Can I 
> >use some kind of shims to do this?  Any BTDT?  It seems to me that after a 
> >while, even that minor deflection will cut the belt's life.  All the others 
> >look to be running straight and true.