Power Steering Pump is crooked

[iBran]

I'm putting in a new belt, and I noticed that as I tightened the bolt that sets the tension, the pump started to get "crooked"... the right side of it started moving away from the radiator.

Unfortunately I don't have a tension gauge so I don't know if I've got it too tight/too loose, but this can't be how the PS pump is supposed to sit, right?


Those are the distances from the edge of the pulley to the radiator.


See how the belt just slightly curves to the right side?

I'm concerned because this is the second "new" belt that I put in -- I put one in last week, and one of the bands shredded and started to hop over the edge of the PS pump pulley. Tightening the lock nuts on the back doesn't seem to help.

Do I just have it way too tight? I'm going to stop at Napa to pick up a gauge tomorrow, but can anyone tell me how the belt is supposed to "feel" at the right tension? How much slack should it have?

 

[ChiXJeff]

Serpentine belts don't have to be as tight as V-belts. If I tighten then without a gauge, I almost always get them too tight.

How many bolts are you loosening on the pump. I'm wondering if you got the one behind the pump.

 

[DrMoab]

Looks like the top bolt holding the adjuster is loose to me. When you tighten it it should straighten back out.

 

[Matthew Currie]

That belt needs to be pretty tight. The feel test is that at the longest unsupported span you should just be able to twist it 90 degrees. If you can twist it further without real strain, it's too loose.

I'm guessing that there is a bolt missing somewhere. I can't off the top of my head remember how many bolts there are, and where they all go, but the pump should definitely not be crooked, and it should be able to exert a great deal of tension on the belt without getting crooked. So my guess is that it's either bent or missing a bolt.

edit: looking at the pictures again I would look at the lower end of the back of the pump. I think it may be missing the bottom back bolt that it pivots on.