Did a smaller pulley blow my power steering pump?

[SeaninSt.Cloud]

I have a 302 mud truck with a power steering conversion-I think the steering gear is from an F-100. It is like 16" long. I have a stock pump-the round kind-it was used.

I had to change my crank pulley and water pump pulley to fix an overheating problem. So, I cut down a 3groove crank pulley (about 6 3/4 diameter) to a single groove and put a 2 groove pulley on the water pump (about 5" diameter). I have a belt connecting the water pump and crank, and the second wp groove to the ps pump. I backed it out of my driveway to let the engine run for 1/2 hour to test the cooling system, and when I went to pull it in I had no power steering. I had fluid in the pump and no leaks.

So, my question is-would changing the pulleys to smaller diameters burn out the pump? I understand the smaller diameters will increase the amount of revolutions, but is it enough to blow a pump? I do not want to replace the pump if this setup is wrong and have it happen again.

I think the pump was old and gave out.

Any ideas? Thanks

 

[Viperwolf1]

If it was just idling the whole time with the smaller pulley then the pulley is not the problem. You would have to get some serious engine speed up to hurt the pump, if that's possible. Are you sure the belt isn't just slipping?

 

[SeaninSt.Cloud]

Thanks for the reply.

The belt is tight. I just ran it again to check. The ps pulley was turning fast.

I punctured a tire last time muddin. I had to put a 33 in the front to get in the garage. So I have a 33 on one side and a 35 on the other side. But, this is temp and I only drove it in and out of my garage.

Anybody think this would blow the pump? I did beat the crap out of my truck last time out. It was the trial run with the ps conversion. But, I did not change the pulleys until after I came home.

Any input would be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Broncobowsher]

The smaller pulley would make the pump turn faster. But idling for half an hour still wouldn't do it. You can drive at highway speeds and everything will be OK. Now if you did a few high RPM runs, then yes it could have blown the pump. My guess is the pump was bad and the pulley speed had nothing to do with the final death.

 

[bronko69er]

If it worked fine before you swapped pulleys, you could still have air in the system. This is assuming you took the pump out to swap pulleys.

 

[SeaninSt.Cloud]

Thanks guys,

I did not take the pump out or break the lines. The pump was used, no idea how old, and since I beat the crap out of the truck last time out I guess the pump gave out. It feels worse than manual steering now.

This is my first build so I wanted to ask, since there is always someone on this board that has had experience with my questions.

I should be posting again when I try to take the pulley off of the pump. From what I read it can be a pain.

Thanks again for your input. I will check back later in case someone knows that I did a no no.

 

[bronko69er]

I mis-read, I though you replaced the PS pulley.....
Sounds like its time for a saginaw.

 

[75bronco08]

if the steering was turned it will blow a pump.but if they were straight then no.i think by run it off the water pump may cause it wear out faster its going to have more pressure on it than just runnig alt.

 

[SeaninSt.Cloud]

if the steering was turned it will blow a pump.but if they were straight then no.i think by run it off the water pump may cause it wear out faster its going to have more pressure on it than just runnig alt.

Did you mean because of the different tire sizes in the front?

 

[Socal Tom]

If the PS pulley is the same size, and the crank pulley got smaller, then the p/s pump is turning slower, if you rev the engine to you get any P/S?
Tom

 

[bhoffmeister]

Maybe driving on three wheels with a few wobbly-pops did it8;D

 

[75bronco08]

Did you mean because of the different tire sizes in the front?

no.if the tire are turned and at idle in park for exseve time then it could blow pump.i had this happen to me many years ago.

 

[Broncobowsher]

no.if the tire are turned and at idle in park for exseve time then it could blow pump.i had this happen to me many years ago.

No, it won't. If you hold the wheel and keep a load in the pump it will hurt it. But even with the wheels turned, just sitting parked at idle does not load the power steering pump. You have to have pressure on the steering wheel to put a load on the pump.

 

[SeaninSt.Cloud]

Maybe driving on three wheels with a few wobbly-pops did it8;D

It was the rear wheel that fell off-both times;D Don't ask

 

[SeaninSt.Cloud]

If the PS pulley is the same size, and the crank pulley got smaller, then the p/s pump is turning slower, if you rev the engine to you get any P/S?
Tom

I have been moving the last 3 days and I have been offline. I had no steering assistance when the engine was idling, when I get a chance I will rev it up and see if I have anything.

I have the ps pump connected to only the wp pulley. It may not be the best set up but it works ( at least until the pump stopped working;D )

Thanks for the input-I want to change the setup now, if I have to , before I blow another ps pump.