The power steering pump on my 940 is now so misaligned that the belt flies off of the pulley in less than one second after the car starts.

Obviously I need either a new bracket or new bushings or both.

The bracket is proving VERY hard to find. Checked all the usual sources, FCP, TASCA, eBay, etc. Does anyone have any suggestions for a source?

I do have a 1991 740 turbo that I could take it off of, but am reluctant to do that. They have different pumps, and I haven't looked closely at the brackets yet.

Do you think that replacing the bushings alone would work? Or is it more likely to need a new bracket.

Thanks,
Scott
--
1955 Human, Scott; 1991 745 Turbo, Thunderbolt; 1994 940, Straxx

I have to agree with Chris. The problem is the through bolt being left loose so the pump will pivot when you replace or adjust the drive belt. Over time the holes become elongated allowing the pump to become misaligned.

Using a straight edge I determined the pulley on the pump was about 1/8" out of plane with the harmonic balancer pulley.

I used the same fix that Chris used. I placed washers on the front two bolts between the bracket and the block. I added two washers that combined to 1/8" thickness between the bracket and the block on each bolt.

If yours is out of alignment so much as to allow the belt to run off this may not work for you. I think I would look at finding a good used one or weld both holes solid and carefully layout and drill to the correct size.

Good luck, and let us know how you fixed this please.

Randy

Dear N7SC,

Hope you're well. Using the '94 940 as an example, there are no rubber bushings in the power steering pump mounting: bushing are used in the alternator and air-conditining compressor mountings.

The power steering pump mounting "bracket" (Part #1346267) is not likely to be the problem: it is bolted to the engine block. It is hard to see how it could be bent.

Attached to the "bracket" are the front and rear "attaching arms", flat pieces of thick sheet metal (#1346307 [front] and #1346308 [rear]) to which the power steering pump is mounted. These "attaching arms" could be bent, but only if the belt were tightened by someone with super-human strength.

If the pump were run for any length of time - with the belt so over-tightened - the power steering pump itself likely has been ruined. Does the pump leak or make any noise? When the belt is not present, does the pulley wobble when turned by hand? Is the face of the pulley parallel with the face of the engine block? Answers to these questions will help to determine if the pump itself has been damaged.

The "attaching arms" can be had at a Volvo dealer, for about $15 each. While they likely could also be found at a salvage yard, the cost - in cash, time and effort - is likely to exceed the cost of buying brand-new items.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

There's a bolt that mounts the pump to the bracket. The problem is that over time, if the pivot bolt is not kept good and tight, the bolt hole in the bracket becomes elongated and allows the pump to cock at an angle. I was able to bring the pulley back onto line by shimming between the bracket and engine block with flat washers but I did not really like that fix. The other two options you have are to have the bracket holes welded smaller and redrilled or buy a new bracket (dealer).
--
Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

Chris, are you talking about the bottom bolt? That is the one that wiggles on my car.

The option of a new one appears to be a non-starter as it is listed as "Discontinued" by places like Tasca Volvo. But I will try with my local dealer, though I loathe them.

There is also a Volvo shop about 30 miles from here that has literally hundreds of older 200, 700, and 900 cars sitting around. Maybe they will sell me a usable part from one of their cars.

Thanks,
Scott
--
1955 Human, Scott; 1991 745 Turbo, Thunderbolt; 1994 940, Straxx

I don't have that car any longer, but as I recall there were three bolts holding the bracket to the engine??? Whatever there were, I shimmed between the bracket and engine at the forward-most bolt hole(s). The rear-most was still mated directly against the engine. This was a quick fix that I wasn't too proud of. It did work and got the pulley back into line, but if you can find another bracket in good shape, that's your best bet.
--
Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

Dear Chris Mullet,

Hope you're well and that New Year has started nicely!! You're correct: the power steering pump bracket is secured to the block by three bolts, two towards the front and one in back (towards the firewall).

How did the bracket work loose? As power steering pumps rarely fail, why was there a need to loosen the bolts, that hold the bracket to the block? Or, as best you can guess, was the bracket's bolts not sufficiently tightened at the factory?

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook

Spook,

What happens is that the holes in the aluminum bracket, that the pump pivot bolt slides through, become elongated over time - particularly the forward pivot bolt hole - due to the belt tension. If the pivot bolt/nut are kept good and tight this probably doesn't happen, or at least not as severely. I guess I never considered the pivot bolt/nut needing to be super tight, just "good and snug". So as that front pivot bolt hole becomes elongated the front end of the pump starts to cock inward toward the engine (influenced by the belt tension) until the pulley alignment becomes worse and worse.

So my quick and dirty fix was to shim the front end of the bracket away from the engine which brought the pulley back into alignment. It worked OK. But if you think about it, the bracket is rather short so when I positioned two or three flat washers under the front bracket holes and no washers under the rear hole, I created a rather precarious mounting situation. If a person was to fabricate tapered shims under all three bracket holes, the forward shims being thicker than the rear, it probably wouldn't be such a bad fix. Oh, and also grind the bracket face at each of the three holes at an angle so that the bolt heads rest flush against the bracket.

I also wonder if it would be possible to drill out the front pivot bolt hole oversize, maintaining center where it belongs, and press a short piece of steel tubing into it. Of course you would want the tubing I.D. to fit close tolerance to the pivot bolt diameter.
--
Current rides: 2005 Volvo S80 2.5T, 2003 Volvo V70 2.4NA, 1973 Volvo 1800ES (getting ever closer to road worthiness)

Dear N7SC,

Hope you're well. The bracket indeed is "no longer available". As, however, it was used on all 940s and 740s (1986 and later), you should have no trouble getting one from a salvage yard. The bracket used on 240s is incompatible.

Hope this helps.

Yours faithfully,

Spook