After loosening the bolt, the pulley came right off. This is a very easy installation.
Compared to the OEM plastic idler pulley (right) the IPSCO Billet Aluminum Idler Pulley (Left) is a much higher quality piece, with a replaceable bearing.
We now turned our attention back to removing the power steering pulley. This turned out to be the start of an arduous journey that was not a lot of fun.
We purchased the Alternator/Power Steering Pulley Puller that was recommended in the IPSCO instructions and angled the pump so we could get sockets on the puller flush. I would highly recommend trying a 1-pc pulley puller (like this) or this and soaking the center of the pulley in penetrating oil for hours.
I’m not sure if the different style of puller would have helped, but the multi-piece puller ripped the flange right off the center power steering hub. The instructions warns against using a 2-jaw puller because of this concern. Needless to say, our problems were just starting.
We can see clearly where the flange sheared right off the center hub. We cut the pulley in half to be able to access the grooves between the splines to remove the center hub. From this photo, we can see how the plastic pulley had a ‘rib’ between the two splines, which kept the pulley spinning and retained within the center hub.
There is zero knurling or splines cast into the plastic pulley from the splined center hub. They were likely ground right off as the pulley spun around the splined hub.
6 comments
Wow, it is unbelievable that such a critical part is made of plastic! This is a must-have for any Viper broken or not.
Not that big of a surprise given that this is a Chrysler product.
Thanks for the update, Billy. What other plans do you have for this beast? It is your personal street car?
Have you pinned the crank pulley yet?
Suddenly I’m glad none of my 30+ year old project cars have power steering!
Wow they were REALLY desperate to shed weight on these cars, huh?