Power Steering Pulley Removal

[Strife]

Is there any trick to removing the power steering pump pulley on an 86 560? I have the shop manual on CD but it seems to be pretty adamant about the use of special tools. Will an ordinary gear puller work, or just "walking"?

I think the pulley is stamped and maybe this is why the extra care is needed.

[Kebowers]

it may take as much as 50TONS of force (and some heat)to pull the pulley off. Its a very tight fit. You must have a puller 'jaw' that is circular and grips the hub flange well. DO NOT attempt to pull using the outer rim or by 'prying'.

Don't have any explanation for why it gets so tight--but be warned.

[Tomit1]

What I have done (2 times already with success) when renewing the seal under the pulley is the following:

place 2 pieces of sawn timber (2by4 or so) on each side of the pump (which has been removed from the engine of course). So that the pulley is facing uppwards and the pulley rests on the wood pieces from both sides. The pump itself is not supported from under. Now hit the centre axle with a hammer, first not so hard and gradually harder and eventually the pulley will pop off.

It is of course at your own risk, but this has worked for me on two different power steering pumps.

[Strife]

Originally Posted by Tomit1

What I have done (2 times already with success) when renewing the seal under the pulley is the following:

place 2 pieces of sawn timber (2by4 or so) on each side of the pump (which has been removed from the engine of course). So that the pulley is facing uppwards and the pulley rests on the wood pieces from both sides. The pump itself is not supported from under. Now hit the centre axle with a hammer, first not so hard and gradually harder and eventually the pulley will pop off.

This would have proven impossible with my pulley/pump, because the pulley doesn't stick out enough from the body of the pump, either in width, or in distance from the body of pump itself.

So, what I did was buy the less expensive (~$40) Sir Tools tool, which involves a clamp, a bar, and a few bolts. Using this resulted in no movement and a bent $40 tool. I got a very unsatisfactory response from Sir tools about the non-performance of this tool. Nonetheless, their being the only game in town, I bought the more expensive Sir Tools "puller" type tool ($80), which involves two C-shaped clips that go over the "nipple" of the pump, a ring goes over that, and then a bolt pushes on the shaft and pulls on the rest. The tool sold at NAPA ($35) is also constructed this way but will not fit on a Mercedes. The $80 Sir tool worked immediately with no trouble at all.

BTW, I looked at the rental tools available at Advance. I'm pretty certain that they would all have been destroyed in attempts to get this @#$@#%@#$% pulley off.

All this trouble and expense to remove a freakin pulley!

[kip Foss]

Don't try to pull a pulley off a shaft using the puller completely. The idea is to put as much of a bind (pressure) on the pulley without bending your puller or the pulley. When you feel that the puller is maxed out take a steel shop hammer, about one pound, and hit the end of the puller adjustment bolt very hard. Don't put your back out hitting it but the blow needs to be very sharp and as straight on the end of the bolt as possible. The shock through shaft will generate a lot of extra force and the vibration will usually cause the pulley to come off.

Since the pulley is a stamped construction and not forged it really doesn't have a lot of strength. You can easly bend in the edges of the v-belt groves. These bends can be straightened out but it just shows that there is not a lot of strength here.

You can heat the hub of the pulley but don't get the pulley web so hot that it looses its temper.

If all else fails and you have damaged the pulley then just cut it off from the hub with an oxy torch. Once the pulley is off then you can grab the hub, apply some heat and do some serious pulling. I don't think that it would be too difficult to find a new pulley.

[Strife]

Originally Posted by kip Foss

Don't try to pull a pulley off a shaft using the puller completely. The idea is to put as much of a bind (pressure) on the pulley without bending your puller or the pulley.

Well, my pump was in the car and I didn't have enough room to rap the bolt with a hammer, but your method seems like it should work if carefully applied. The damn think came off with a pop!

[Kebowers]

The PS pump pulley sit on a tapered shaft. You MUST use the correct type of 'puller' or the pulley will be ruined. The puller must grip the 'ring/groove' on the front end of the pulley. The pulley will 'pop' loose when enough force is applied that way.