After my mechanic replaced the timing belt, my power steering/ac belt began squeeking. I was unable to tighten it because the lock nut on the tensioner pulley is stripped. The belt eventually came off the pulley and shredded. Had the belt replaced, and the squeeking came back. My mechanic tightened the belt by loosening the 3 power steering pump bolts, moving the pump, and re-tightening the bolts. Is this a bad way to do it, as my car has AC and it's supposed to be tightening using the lock nut/adjustment screw on the tensioner pulley? The squeeking went down and the belt shredded off the pulley again.

I cut the belt and rotated each pulley. They all move freely except for the power steering pulley. It does not move as easily as the others. Does this mean there's a problem with my power steering pulley or pump? I checked the fluid and it is on minimum. Or could the tensioner bracket be mis-aligned? It doesn't appear to be.

Also, the crankshaft pulley is fairly new and I checked to make sure it's tightened enough.

The crankshaft pulley needs to be torqued down to 105 ft/lbs. I'm not sure if you can just judge that by feeling it.

As far as the power steering goes, it is not going to spin freely. Whenever it is spinning it is trying to pump fluid. The A/C pulley will spin freely as long as the A/C is not running and the idler pulley should spin freely at all time.

I would check the alignment on your pulleys and make sure that none of them are causing the belt to ride up on the side of the pulley. Also, make sure that the power steering pulley and A/C pulley are free of debris. If you have a small rock or piece of trash in the tracks, that could be effecting (or is it affecting?) how the belt rides on the pulley at speed.

Reading this, I'm thinking that the crank pulley is not correctly aligned with the rest of the pulleys.

Also, top off your PS fluid.

If all he did to tension the PS/AC belt was move the pump itself, that will not be no where near enough tension on the belt to hold it in place. Just get a new belt and when you put it on, get the belt tight by moving the power steering pump, and tighten that down, and then tension the belt with the tensioner right below it. It's really not that hard, I'm pretty sure all the bolts that you will be working with are 14mm too. Also while you are at it, check the torque on the crankshaft pulley, like that wass said above.

Good luck

It sounds like a misalignment, but I've got the bolt with the eye in the head for the other bolt if you need it. It's brand new since I couldn't take it back (wrong part).

The bolt that threads into THAT is an M8x1.25.

I loosened the tensioner pulley, then moved the PS pump as far to the front of the car as I could. A big difference from where it was at. However, after moving the PS pump towards the front, I'm unable to loosen the tension any further with the adjustment screw, and it doesn't seem that the tension needs to be tightened. I also tightened the crankshaft pulley as much as I could with a breaker bar.

After the car has been running for about 30 minutes and the pulleys are warmed up, the chirping sound comes back. What could cause this? It only happens after I've been driving for a decent amount of time and the sound occurs when I'm giving it gas.

there was a TSB about the power steering pump bracket and tensioner. My belt did the same thing as yours. It squeaked for a while, then when it finally stopped the belt died shortly after. Contact your local Satan and tell them you heard about a TSB on our P/S bracket and tensioner. I'm sure they could tell you what it says. Anyway, they make a "proper" one now that you can get from Satan. I had mine replaced and now all's fine. Hope this helps.

Here is the TSB, I got it from Alldata. I'm having the same sort of problem, throwing the belt at high RPM ~6500-7000. It's happened 5 times already. I'm going to check everything with a straight edge and see what I can do..

Hope this helps, JPos








Power Steering - Drive Belt Problem Solutions
No: TSB-98-37A-005
DATE: October, 1998
MODEL: 1995-99 Eclipse 2.0L Non-Turbo

SUBJECT:
POWER STEERING BELT ALIGNMENT AND
TROUBLESHOOTING PROCEDURES

This bulletin supersedes TSB-97-37A-001 dated March, 1997, which should be discarded. New and/or revised information marked by " * ".
PURPOSE
This bulletin contains troubleshooting procedures for checking power steering pump pulley alignment and correcting misalignment.

SYMPTOM
The customer may complain of conditions related to misalignment of the power steering pump pulley, misalignment of the A/C idler pulley, a distorted power steering pump bracket, rapid belt wear, or the belt being thrown off the pulley.

AFFECTED VEHICLES
1995-99 Eclipse equipped with the 2.0L Non-Turbo (420A) engine

DIAGNOSIS AND REPAIR SUMMARY



Study the repair and diagnosis flow chart, then proceed with the alignment checking and repair procedures as follows.

ALIGNMENT CHECKING PROCEDURES

Vehicles WITHOUT Air Conditioning


First, visually inspect the alignment of the power steering pump pulley to the crankshaft pulley.
If belt and pulley misalignment cannot be visually verified, check the alignment with a straight edge as shown in the illustration.

Vehicles WITH Air Conditioning



Inspect the alignment of the power steering pump pulley by looking at the position where the belt rides on the idler pulley (tensioner). If the belt is not centered on the idler pulley as shown by the overhang in the side view in the illustration, the power steering pump pulley is misaligned.
REPAIR PROCEDURES
* A. Power Steering Bracket Replacement (ALL VEHICLES)


1. Refer to the service manual and remove and replace the power steering pump bracket with the new improved bracket, MR403066, then mount the pump onto the bracket. On A/C equipped vehicles, tighten the bolts to the proper torque. On vehicle without A/C, do not fully tighten the pump attachment bolts until adjusting the belt to the proper tension.

2. Install a new P/S belt and adjust to the correct belt tension (93 - 115 lbs.). If the vehicle has A/C, use the idler pulley adjustment bolt to achieve proper belt tension.

Note: The belt MUST be adjusted to the proper tension. Low belt tension may cause noise or loss of the P/S belt. Belt tension that is too high may cause abnormal wear to the P/S pump pulley shaft bearing.

3. After replacing the bracket, go back to the checking procedures, then proceed with the proper alignment procedures (section C in this bulletin) based on information gathered during alignment checking.

* B. A/C Idler Tensioner Pulley Replacement (New Wider Pulley)



Vehicles With A/C Produced Before February 2, 1998 only. Replace the pulley with the new wider idler pulley (MR398887). Use the procedures in the service manual. The wider pulley allows more surface area for the belt to ride, eliminating the chance of belt damage caused by the belt riding over the edge of the pulley.
Note: Vehicles produced after February 2, 1998 have the new wider pulley installed during vehicle production.

C. Power Steering Pump Bracket Alignment



If the power steering pump pulley is out of alignment, use the following procedures to shim the power steering pump into proper alignment.
1. Remove the bolt holding the power steering pump bracket to the front area of the engine mount. Loosen the remaining two bolts attaching the power steering pump bracket.

2. Add the necessary number of 1 mm shims between the pump bracket and the front engine mount so the pump is moved to where the pulley is in alignment.

Note: FOR BETTER PULLEY ALIGNMENT ON VEHICLES WITH AIR CONDITIONING:

a. Move the power steering pump closer to the engine (along the adjuster slot in the power steering bracket) then tighten the upper attachment bolt.

b. Tighten the two lower power steering pump bolts, last.

c. Adjust the power steering belt tension by using the idler tension pulley.

3. Go back to the diagnosis procedures to check the belt alignment again before returning the vehicle to the customer. If necessary, install additional shims as required to achieve proper alignment (2 mm maximum).

4. Verify that the repair and alignment procedures were effective by test driving the vehicle under many different conditions (highway speeds, quick acceleration, various turning situations, etc.).



* PARTS INFORMATION
WARRANTY INFORMATION
R & R and shimming of Power Steering Pump Bracket

Nature Code: 86Z Cause Code: 490

Labor Operation No. 37501000 Time Allowance: 0.8 hr.

* Air Conditioner Tensioner Pulley Replacement

Nature Code: 99Z Cause Code. 990

Labor Operation No. 55314310 Time Allowance: 0.4 hr.

Warranty Coverage: 36 months/36,000 miles.
Special Warranty Information: Normal warranty procedures apply.

Good post Jpos, remember though that these TSB's are on the Wiki as well.

http://www.2gnt.com/index.php?d=Factory%20Service%20Bulletins

Thanks, I didn't know the TSB's were up on the site.

I replaced my belt the other night and noticed the Power Steering pump has a lot of end play. After Christmas I'm changing the pump and the idler and checking the belt alignment.

I'll let you all know what I find..

Good Holidays, JPos.