Powersteeringpulley

Tiny
AVENGEJADE
  • MEMBER
  • 2000 DODGE CARAVAN
  • 6 CYL
  • 200,000 MILES
How do you remove power steering pulley on a 2000 dodge caravan with a 3.0 liter engine? Does it need special tool to take off?
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 AT 5:06 AM

1 Reply

Tiny
CARADIODOC
  • MECHANIC
  • 33,873 POSTS
Yup. There's two versions. One is like 2/3 of a piece of pipe, 2" long, with a lip that goes under the lip in the center of the pulley. The other end is threaded, and a bolt goes in there and when tightened, it pushes on the end of the shaft and pulls the pulley off.

The other version is two pieces that when placed together, the lip makes full contact with the lip on the pulley. A sleeve goes around those two pieces to hold them together while the bolt is tightened.

New pumps and new pulleys used to come with a bolt and nut to pull the pulley onto the shaft but they never worked real well. The tool for the job usually comes in the kit with the puller. The center hole in the pump's shaft is threaded. You grab the correct size threaded insert, screw that into the shaft, then install a special bolt on it. A large collar is also on that bolt with a bearing to make it turn easier. As you tighten the large nut, it pulls the shaft into the center of the pulley.

The position of the pulley on the shaft is critical to prevent misalignment and belt squeal. New parts come with a spacer, if needed, to use with the included bolt that sets the depth to the correct position for the application. The center hole of those spacers is too small to allow them to be used with the better aftermarket tools so as an alternative, look for rust buildup as a witness mark inside the center hole of the pulley where it contacts the shaft. You will see that the end of the shaft is either flush with the end of the pulley, it is recessed about 1/8", or about 1/4". If you set the included spacer on the end of the center hub of the pulley, the center of that spacer should just touch the end of the shaft. Pull the shaft into the pulley about the correct amount, then you'll have to partially remove the tool so you can physically look at how far the shaft has been pulled in. Repeat that until the end of the shaft just reaches where that rust buildup starts. That will work if you're replacing the pump. If you're replacing the pulley, naturally there won't be any rust to use as a guide. In that case, use a small steel rule to measure how far the shaft is recessed, then set the new pulley to the same depth. You can also set the spacer in place to see how close you are.

Don't try to hammer the pulley on. That will damage the pump. What you might try, if the collar is turning so hard that it feels like the threaded insert might snap, (which does happen), is tighten it enough to put plenty of pulling pressure on it, then lightly tap the end of the puller. That will shock the pulley and make it slip on enough to loosen the pressure on the collar. At that point, tighten it again and tap lightly again. Very little tapping force is needed but that is often just the extra little oomph it needs to be convinced to slide on.
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Thursday, July 7th, 2011 AT 6:56 AM

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