How do you remove the Power Steering Pump on a 1998 SL1?

Discussion in 'Saturn S-series' started by gardinx4, Apr 29, 2008.

  1. gardinx4

    gardinx4 Guest

    I'm putting new valve stem seals on my 1998 SL1. Its turning out to
    be a lot more difficult than I anticipated. The first major problem
    was removing the crankshaft bolt. After wrestling with it by hand, I
    read about the starter trick. That didn't work either. Then I found a
    post somewhere that said the best thing to do is cut the flange off
    the bolt. The flange on the SL1 is not very large, but the washer is
    huge. I cut into the washer with a Dremel tool, but not completely
    cutting it off, so the pulley wasn't damaged. I guess that was enough
    to relieve most of the torque and it came off fairly easy after that
    using the breaker bar.

    I've now got the top motor mount, belt tensioner and idle pulley
    removed. But, I can't figure out how to take the power steering pump
    off. I've taken off two of the bolts on the pump's bracket that go
    into the timing chain cover. The third bolt is not accessible because
    the pulley on the PS pump is blocking it. Removing the pulley would
    allow access to that bolt. But, I don't see any obvious way to take
    off the pulley. The repair book I have doesn't give much help on this
    removal.

    Can someone explain to me how to remove the PS pump?

    Thanks.
     
    gardinx4, Apr 29, 2008
    #1
  2. gardinx4

    =3FCronus=3F Guest

    Its difficult to remove because its held by a loctite around the flange.
    Try a torch next time...
    Rotate the pulley to locate bolts through the holes in the pulley...

    If you're doing all of this because of an oil burning issue then you are
    likely going about it in the wrong way.

    -poster formally known as BlaBla
     
    =3FCronus=3F, Apr 29, 2008
    #2
  3. gardinx4

    gardinx4 Guest

    Thanks for the info on rotating the pulley. I didn't even notice there
    were several bolts behind it. I've got it off now and can continue
    with the project.

    I'm hoping the problem is just a valve stem seal. The car had recently
    started to hesitate a little bit. I figured it was time to replace
    the plugs. Pulled the No. 1 plug wire and the end of it was coated in
    oil. Not just a light coat, it was actually dripping off the boot. I
    thought I must have somehow spilled oil onto it the last time I put
    some in the motor. Pulled the plug and it was coated with oil as
    well. It also looked like there was oil on top of the piston. Then I
    did a compression test. No. 1 was 250 and the others were about 190.

    Anyway, I imagine the head needs to come off to determine the real
    problem. I'm a DIY kind of person, but haven't done this type of
    repair in 25 years. Its more difficult and frustrating than I
    remember.
     
    gardinx4, Apr 30, 2008
    #3
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