Power steering pump alignment issue

[jhdeval]

Okay so here's the story, my 65 Barracuda is still at the body shop and has been since October. The final issue has been the power steering pump. The original pulley is bent so I ordered a replacement for it from steerandgear. Looked brand new too. We compared the outside diameter looked dead on we compared the inside diameter looked good then we sat them next to each other and they looked to be just about the same height off the table. So we said looks like the right pulley. Heres the generals 4.5" OD roughly. This is for a TRW small body with a flush pulley.

Here comes the grind the body shop is saying the power steering is throwing the belt and is about a .25 inches off from the crankshaft. He did not indicate whether that was plus or minus though. I have a few theories and I am hoping someone else can shed some light.

1) Could it be the end play on the crankshaft?
2) Could the bracket for the power steering pump be bent?
3) Could the paint on the ID of the pulley prevent it from seating completely?

I like theory 2 and 3 best. As I recall the bracket should be a right angle to the block on the back and lined up with the front edge of block. Any theories and or ideas VERY welcome.

 

[67Dart273]

It's not paint, I can tell you that. How do you know the pulley is seated?

 

[jhdeval]

I don't I have to go with what the "body shop" is saying. As I recall there should be about 1/8 to 1/4 inch of the shaft exposed on the outside of the pulley. Does that sound about right?

 

[fastbackmopar]

The slant six power steering brackets are very touchy. Its some times takes two people to align it up nice because of the moving parts on the brackets. Tell them, if they haven't already, to lay a ruler on the steering pulley and see exactly where it is on the crank pulley. The string method works good as well. One last after thought is that some single groove belts have extra width, and that width can be enough to "pull" the belt off the pulley when stressed sawing the steering back and forth. Just my two cents.

 

[jhdeval]

Good thoughts fastbackmopar.

I called the "shop" this morning and he said they got the pulley to line up but now suddenly the pump is leaking out of the front. In other words I assume they crushed the body and it is now junk. #@%#%^$^*%&^&* (cursing). So this now leaves me screwed as Lares and Cardone have none. So then it comes to people like steer and gear and jims auto but they want a premium price. Yay me.

My thought is changing to the Saginaw pump. I know I need to change the bracket but I am hoping someone here may have done this on a slant six? Whats involved? New lines? Old lines?