PS Belt Rubs on Timing Cover - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

renmike · 11-18-2006, 09:53 PM

Hey all,

Had my engine and tranny out today. Seems my slight leak was due to the rear main seal I put in having a slight tear (didn't see it when I put it all together). Anyways, no leaks now , and that makes me a happy fellow

Anywho, while checking out other things, I noticed that the power steering belt has been rubbing on the timing cover, I can see the wear marks. I put the pump on and the belt before I dropped everything back in, and I can see how the top-over portion of the belt is just so ever slightly butting up next to the cover, while you can see daylight out of the bottom. I couldn't see anywhere that I could make an adjustment to the pump, and the cover is on tight. Could I be missing a needed shim on the ps pump pulley or something? I don't see it in the shop manual, so I doubt it. If anyone has any ideas what I could do, I'd greatly appreciate it.

renmike · 11-19-2006, 07:30 PM

Any Suggestions???

***toyomoho*** · 11-19-2006, 07:46 PM

I don’t see any shims either. Are you sure the timing cover is pulled as close the block as possible. Had this problem on another make of car and ended up shimming the pump forward a little bit with washers. This seems possible on this car but might be a pain given the design of the PS mount. You could also remove the pulley and add shims behind. The pulley and shaft have splines but just use larger ID shims.

ghettosled · 11-20-2006, 12:38 PM

just for reference sake, my 96 camry doesnt need shims to clear the cover. are you sure the cover is on tight? if you shim the PS pulley too much, it will wear the belt quicker with the 2 pulleys not being aligned.

renmike · 11-20-2006, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ghettosled

just for reference sake, my 96 camry doesnt need shims to clear the cover. are you sure the cover is on tight? if you shim the PS pulley too much, it will wear the belt quicker with the 2 pulleys not being aligned.

I haven't had the opportunity to try to take the cover back off yet, but when the engine was out, I tried to see if it had any give to it, and it didn't seem to. Could anything be obstructing it from behind that I'm not thinking of?

Yeah, the pulleys being out of alignment was my biggest worry if I considered shimming it. It's just weird how the bottom has a little bit of a gap, almost like the pump is not quite parallel or something, i dunno...

***toyomoho*** · 11-20-2006, 03:48 PM

Check the cover fit all around to see if it has a larger gap somewhere. The gasket could have doubled up somewhere. Maybe the pump is not parallel for some reason. Some PS brackets have a slot at one end instead of a hole. This may allow the pump to be turned a little. Under normal conditions, the belt clears the timing belt housing by only a small amount. A little offset between pulleys is not going to result in disaster. Of course best to find the problem, but if one can’t, do what you need to do.

Novice_cardude · 11-20-2006, 04:55 PM

Sounds to me like the P/S pump simply isn't positioned properly. I'd check for a bent or warped bracket. Shimming is a possibility, but you'd have to get it straight to prevent premature belt wear.