Is this the 2.4L or 3.0L? I presume they may be the same but not sure. On the 2.4L there is a metal collar that is threaded that works as the nut for the long bolt that holds things in place. Last one I had out (I pulled engine when doing a head bolt thread repair) I took a hammer and gently tapped the collar to make the PS pump easier to slide into position. When you get the bolt started and tighten it down it will draw it back in tight against the pump.

Not a very good pic for this but the only one I have.

 

Is this the 2.4L or 3.0L? I presume they may be the same but not sure. On the 2.4L there is a metal collar that is threaded that works as the nut for the long bolt that holds things in place. Last one I had out (I pulled engine when doing a head bolt thread repair) I took a hammer and gently tapped the collar to make the PS pump easier to slide into position. When you get the bolt started and tighten it down it will draw it back in tight against the pump.

Not a very good pic for this but the only one I have.

Yes! I was wondering about those "collars". I have the 2.4L engine. Are they the square things in my photo? They look like they might be taps for the bolts. Did you remove them (How? Are they themselves screwed in?)? Or just hit (them) with your hammer? (And what did that accomplish?) They sure seem to be the reason it's so hard to wedge the pump in the bracket.

Working from under the car with such little space, it's hard to imagine how I could get the force to push the pump into place all the while trying to slide the bolts (at least the top one) into the slotted holes.

Upon further reflection, are you saying those "nuts" are slightly pulled out and you tapped them back into the hole to create the room needed to slide the pump in? I can kind of see a gap on the lower one.

 

@CamryXLE02-John, yes take a small hammer that you can get up in there and tap those square things back into the tabs they're mounted in. They won't move much but should gain just a fraction of space to make that pump slip in easier. When you replace the bolts and snug things down they'll pull back out against the pump.

I was fortunate that I was able to do mine while it was on an engine stand and that front cover (the slots the bolts go through) wasn't on making it easy to get to.

 

Thanks again Brad. I'm sure this is the solution. But I'm not having much luck. Would a little heat/flame help or hurt moving the nuts? Thanks again.

 

Given all the oil residue I'd be hesitant to use a flame up in there. Things could get out of hand quickly. Also I'm not sure if aluminum would react the same as cast iron with heat.

Maybe take a flat file and slide along the pump to make sure there aren't any burrs and that everything is smooth and flat?

 

THANK YOU SO MUCH BRAD! I had suspected those square nuts were the problem. So glad I posted here and you knew to tap them in. Though I did not simply "tap them with a ballpeen hammer". There was very little space for a good swing. I got an extension bar (the handle to a floor jack!) to reach outside the car, then had to use 3 lb. sledge to hammer them in. Even with the odd angles I was able to do it - enough so there was NO friction; both bolt channels easily slid all the way in! I also spayed the nuts with silicone spray (had no IR Blaster); not sure if that helped.

I think you can see in the picture how they're pushed in (and beat up) compared to my first photo.

The next hardest part was tightening the upper bolt. A 1-inch regular depth 14mm socket was too short and a 2" deep socket was too long what with the little clearance behind the ratchet. I friend brought over a 3/4" extension and that worked very well. The utterly amazing thing to me was he came in from the top of the engine and securely tightened the top bolt with an open-end wrench! I didn't think it was accessible from the top so never tried it.

Thank you again VERY much!! Yours is the ONLY answer I got - or found on the internet) that mentioned the nuts. So grateful for this site. This was my first time posting and I'm thrilled with the results!

 

Thanks for taking the time to come back and post what was successful. That really helps those in the future who may have the same question.

Glad to hear you were able to find an alternate way to drive those in. As I say, my engine was out so there was no difficulty. I agree, that top bolt can be a major pain. I too used a shallow socked with short extension to get the needed length. I didn't think it was accessible from the top with a wrench. I'll keep that in mind should I ever need to work on the PS pump again.

Congrats on getting it back together!

 

This video from 1A Auto was (as usual) super helpful with replacing the power steering pump - except it didn't show the hardest part which is the subject of this post: installing it in the bracket which requires hammering back the nuts, and tightening the upper bolt from the top, back/firewall side of the engine.

One last thing. As in the video, my power steering sensor broke off somehow, somewhere, sometime. They therefore didn't show how to remove the wire from the sensor. But the plastic tube on the sensor that broke off was still attached to the wire on my car. I really wasn't sure b/c I'd never seen it properly. Again, my friend, in trying to pry it off, realized there was a little tab that released the wire from the plastic tube (which normally would be how to remove the wire from the sensor). I was afraid trying too hard to pry it off would break the wire and never realized there was a release tab.

You can see the sensor wire - with the broken off sensor switch tube still on it - at the top of the 2nd photo I posted which showed the square nuts hammered in.