Compared to the plastic OEM pulley (right), the new IPSCO Billet Aluminum Power Steering Pulley (left) is a far nicer piece that is designed much better and will likely outlast the car.
Before we could tackle the stubborn power steering spline, we had to remove the pump from the car. This would actually have been easier from the get-go. However, this brass nut on the pressure line of the pump has been known to take over 200lb-ft of torque to remove
Our car was not quite as stubborn, but still took about 100lb-ft of torque to remove. In order to not damage and round-off this nut, it’s crucial to use a 5/8” flare nut crowfoot wrench with a breaker bar. A standard flare nut wrench will probably not give you enough leverage. Trust me, this is the right tool for the job and you’ll want to invest in having it vs damaging your car.
After removing the power steering pump, we went to tackle removing the stubborn pulley hub. Honestly, it would be a lot easier and cheaper to buy a new or remanufactured power steering pump assembly for $75 off amazon or RockAuto (P/N: 4642153). Some say this is the same pump that is used on certain year Durangos or Grand Cherokees (with P/N: 4643341, 52087871AD, 52037812, 52087658, 52087871, 52088139, 53006286, 97172M).
Since our car had such low miles, we wanted to try to keep it as original as possible, so we took the much harder road of trying to remove the original pulley’s hub.
Since the flange was destroyed, we decided to use the groove between the two splined sections on the lower part of the 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?