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Adding power steering to my 89 Sidekick

8.3K views 27 replies 5 participants last post by  turboguzzi  
#1 ·
My 89 Sidekick (1.6 8v TBI, 5 speed, 4x4 ) had manual steering and no a/c. So I'm working on adding power steering.

I acquired the components from ebay (pump, bracket, reservoir, sector, shaft, hoses) and have everything installed. Everything mounted fairly easily - hard work, but not complicated.

I will need to fabricate a bracket for the reservoir and will probably need to get longer low pressure hoses once that is done. That isn't too complicated either.

But - there's always a but. The pump is about a half belt width or 3/8 too far forward and the belt walks to the rear when I start the engine.

Do y'all know if there is a difference in brackets for different years or for the 16v vs the 8v engine?

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#2 ·
My 89 Sidekick (1.6 8v TBI, 5 speed, 4x4 ) had manual steering and no a/c. So I'm working on adding power steering.

I acquired the components from ebay (pump, bracket, reservoir, sector, shaft, hoses) and have everything installed. Everything mounted fairly easily - hard work, but not complicated.

I will need to fabricate a bracket for the reservoir and will probably need to get longer low pressure hoses once that is done. That isn't too complicated either.

But - there's always a but. The pump is about a half belt width or 3/8 too far forward and the belt walks to the rear when I start the engine.

Do y'all know if there is a difference in brackets for different years or for the 16v vs the 8v engine?

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Was just looking at a diagram showing the 89-92, 8v set-up and appears you may be able to shim the bracket to move the pump slightly back, but the rear part of bracket may have to be modified since it attaches on rear of pump.... if that makes sense to you! Do you know what the brackets came from, 8v or 16v, apparently they are slightly (3/8") different.
Or, very remote possibility you somehow installed the pump a little off... if that's even possible.
 
#3 ·
I went from manual to PS in my 8V with used parts, pretty much sure they were off a 16V, everything aligned perfectly, no issues.
post a pic of your install, maybe ill spot by eye something amiss.
will post a pic of my install too, just too dark outside now.
 
#4 ·
I have no idea what the parts were from, but I'm guessing that it was a newer model than my 89.

There isn't much wiggle room with alignment as the bracket's holes aren't elongated or anything like that.

I could cut/grind/weld and try to make this work. I will save that as a last resort.

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#6 ·
Newer isn’t an issue. If you look at the parts catalog, all of this generation Suzuki has the same part numbers for the power steering circuit.
 
#8 ·
Newer isn’t an issue. If you look at the parts catalog, all of this generation Suzuki has the same part numbers for the power steering circuit.
That was my thoughts when I bought the parts off of ebay. I went back through history and it looks like it's from a '94.

I did some research at the time of purchase and consensus was that the year shouldn't matter. I assumed from that that the specific 4 cyl engine wouldn't be an issue either.

I bought the new double crankshaft pulley from Highway 83 Suzuki as I didn't have that part.

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#10 ·
we have the same bracket, but your pump is different.... if you didnt buy them together, maybe for some reason they are not matched...

the two lines should match! see yours first

100333


100334
 
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#11 ·
If you look at the two photos, back and forth, you can see the difference in dimension - not necessarily with the pump itself, but with the connecting brackets....???
 
#12 · (Edited)
EXACTLY...and the bracket appears to not be "right"... AGAIN, look closely at the angle of your belt in relation to that part of the bracket!!! LOOK CLOSELY...Why not just remove the belt and use a straight-edge... find out for sure, it's easy enough.
Fact is, the pulley is not just sticking out, it's at a slightly different angle. Even those bright blue lines Turbo stuck on there clearly show it.
Turbo says pump is different, but it sure fit the bracket, didn't it????????????????
What part of the pump might be different that would cause this odd angle and still fit the bracket?????????
 
#13 ·
Everything came together. When I unboxed the parts, the pump was bolted to the bracket. The bolts were rusted to the point that I had to nurse them a bit to remove them and separate the pump from the bracket.

The hoses were still attached to the steering sector/unit. The only part that wasn't connected to the others was the shaft. It was a good deal awkward to separate everything to get it cleaned up after it was unboxed.

The only parts that were sourced separately was the crank pulley. I've had good luck with everything else I've sourced from Highway 83 Suzuki, so I'm hesitant to think that is the issue.

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#14 · (Edited)
OK.... that sheds more light on the subject. The pulley might have a hub with slightly different dimensions where it seats on the shaft, it isn't fully seated or can it be fitted reversed? Not familiar with physical characteristics of this pulley, my Tracker has no P/S.
But, I still can't figure why the slight off-angle of that pulley. BTW, have you observed the pulley while engine is running? It doesn't wobble or rotate abnormally does it?
 
#15 ·
The crank pulley probably couldn't be installed backwards. It is offset from its mounting surface to such an extent that it would be a neat trick to install it backwards.

That said, I had a tech install a cpu in a zero insertion force socket about 90 or so degrees from correct and bend a boat load of pins in the process. I didn't think that was possible at the time.

I would think it would require a good deal of force to bend the bracket. It's about 1/4 inch thick and with the various bends and other features, it would take quite a lick to bend it on purpose. There also were no issues with bolt alignment or installation that would indicate distortion somewhere.

I moved the belt to the 'correct' position and took a picture. I took a picture without the belt as well. I can see where the ps pulley may not be parallel to the crankshaft pulley, but I don't think that would explain why the whole ps pulley is about half a belt width forward.

I have a number of commitments tomorrow, but am going to try and remove the bracket and take some bearings on it to see if it could be bent in some fashion. That and try to get a look at the pulley while the engine is running.

I still need to fabricate a bracket for the reservoir as well. Oh and I noticed two torn boots on the driver's axle. AARRGGHH!

Here are the pictures:

Image
Image


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#16 ·
These new pics are better in showing more detail. I just spent about 30 minutes comparing every single bend and weld on that bracket and appears the bracket must be the wrong one... at least it's not exactly like the one on Turbo's engine. Again, if you look really close at the part of the bracket that is next to the belt, you'll see it actually sticks out enough that if you were to line the belt to proper position, it would be in complete contact with it. That section of the bracket has about 3/8 to 1/2" of spacing from the edge to the welded tab on the side, compared to bracket in Turbo's picture. Appears this bracket is not going to work unless you end up modifying it. You're right, the new pictures show no evidence of impact damage or otherwise. From what Bex and Turbo have already commented, these brackets should all be identical... but maybe there was some engine model that had slight difference in the mounting dimensions due to slight difference in the position of crank pulley. ???????????????????..... weird!
 
#18 ·
The connecting brackets on your replacement pump look longer than on turbo’s photos, and would be pushing the steering pump out of line.
 
#19 ·
I keep looking at this and noticed that the pump can't move rearward sufficiently to correct the alignment.

Now in the picture below that the front of the bracket extends out past the edge of the crank pulley. If the pump moves rearward until the ps pulley aligns with the crankshaft pulley, the ps pulley will be pretty hard against the pump bracket.

From what I'm seeing, the bracket has to be the issue. Now why it doesn't line up properly is a mystery. Perhaps there is a different bracket needed for this engine, or these parts are from a Tracker rather than a Sidekick. Something has to be different.

That said, I think I could heal this by removing the ear that bolts from the front and elongating the other mounting holes. Once aligned, I could weld a washer or similar to the bracket to prevent unwanted movement. I could also reattach the front mounting ear.
Image


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#21 ·
I got that going today. Elongated the mounting holes and repositioned the little tab/ear bracket. Fabricated a bracket for the reservoir, filled and tested. Steering works well. I have the steering wheel off about 90 degrees.

And now I'm getting a constant drip from the corner of the oil pan adjacent to the ps pump.

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#23 ·
It's motor oil. I'm a bit concerned that a bolt for the ps bracket may have been to long and pushed through the block.

I don't see how that's possible. I mean I would think it would take a good deal of torque to push through like that. I'm only using 3/8 ratchet and normal wrenches, not some cheater pipe.

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#24 ·
I agree.... because if that were the case, you would probably see oil around the area where the bracket bolts are threaded in as well. Also, there aren't any areas on that part of the crankcase that have pressurized oil running through it... I don't think.
Is the oil visible only at the immediate corner of the oil pan?
 
#25 ·
ouch, thats no good.... on the other hand, nothing that cant be solved by putting some loctite on that bolt.
BTW manual says that bolt should be just 20mm long...

my power steering installation works fine, but just the other day had seen a leak form the frnot seal of the pump, rebuild kit from rockauto is on the way, superfast service!
 
#27 ·
No. Normally the FSM will only give torque but not the specifics for the length and thread of bolts.