Water Pump Pulley not Aligned

[JustinK]

I recently bought a 1974 Bronco with a 302, power steering and A/C. Since purchase I had the A/C fixed and have had alternator problems. I burned through two alternators and finally decided to go with a higher amp alternator to fix the problem.

Once the higher amp alternator was installed I drove it about 20 miles and the belt got twisted and broke. In looking at the pulley alignment it appears the water pump pulley is out of alignment and is too far forward. I am not sure why I did not have this problem before but the new alternator and other pulleys appear aligned with the exception of the water pump. Maybe once the belt was changed it was less forgiving?

With all that said my question is regarding the water pump pulley. Does anyone know what pulley I could use that will bring the water pump pulley back toward the firewall about 1/2 inch?

I tried my best to capture the misalignment in a pic.

Thanks!

https://imgur.com/a/g53HzrP

 

[Broncobowsher]

Image didn't come through

 

[DirtDonk]

I can see an image, though from my phone I don’t have a lot of detail that I can see. And I’m not sure we’re gonna be able to tell from here just what was done.
The first thing that comes to mind is the pulley being the wrong one. Since Ford had so many different versions with different offsets, that’s extremely easy. Anyone who has ever swapped pulleys and found out the hard way can attest to that.
From here it does look at least like the correct vintage pulley. Is it a single groove or double groove?

A far less common alternate theory to that is the pulley slipping forward on the water pump hub, or even the hub having been seated incorrectly if it’s a replacement water pump.
Any way for you to know if the previous owner had recently replaced the pump?

How about trying some more pictures?

 

[Broncobowsher]

Picture works now. As Paul stated, need more info. The picture shows the problem, but doesn't show all the related parts that make up the system. Since A/C was never an option it can only mean that there is non-stock parts in the belt system. It can be done many different ways. Need to see a little bigger picture of what is going on.

 

[JustinK]

Thanks all. See if these pictures help.

https://imgur.com/ByvJva3

https://imgur.com/a/TVddgYu

https://imgur.com/968GAzv

https://imgur.com/fGEkqVL

 

[Slowleak]

I have never done it but I hear you can press the flange further down the shaft on those water pumps to line things up. I would pull the fan and measure the offset of the flange and measure the pulley height to make sure you have the correct one. I have a spare one. I laid it on a table and it’s 2.5inches high. If the pulley is correct, you might just want to swap out the pump. It looks like it has been there awhile.
Here’s an old thread: https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/pulley-alignment-questions-302-year-differences.73639/

 

[Broncobowsher]

It looks like the pulleys line up except the water pump, can you confirm that?
I also remember that the flange on the water pump is just a press fit. So it might be possible to press it on further.

One of the old salvage yards I visited once had a pickup truck bed that all the random used pulleys were tossed in. When you knew what you were looking for it was remarkable easy to find stuff in there. Easy to pass over the crank pulleys and quickly pick out water pump pulleys. Then a matter of finding the right one. I am pretty sure they crushed out a few years back when scrap and rent both went up.

 

[Rustytruck]

With small block fords you cant mix up pully sets. In 1974 ford had at least 2 pulley sets one set if you didnt have a smog pump and one set if you origionally had a smog pump. Somg pump was the oddbal. And a pain in the ass oddball standard pully sets work well and cross refrence with the mustang wterpump and pully sets the problem lyes with the alternator and smog pump cast steel mount requiring a new water pump 3/16 shorter new water pump pulley. You cant find this pump anywhere when you need it you have to special order it. In a pinch i used a mustang water pump but i had to create a 3/16 spacer between the pump flange and the pully wich left no support fot the fan spacer and fan. What a mess it was. Scared the hell out of me. I was over 100 miles away from anywhere. It got me home