Power Steering Pump Bracket
 

Going to have the power steering pump bracket welded up for the third time. Has anyone in the forum ever resolved the weakness of the power steering pump bracket. The original is weak and they aren't very common in junk yards these days. Thanks.

Dennis

Just had a thought. Once upon a time there was a 5 cylinder version of this engine that Audi used. Anyone know what years this was and what cars? Were they imported into the US?

D24/D24T Power Steering Pump Brackets for Sale

A lot of effort has gone into this project.

There is a specific bolt tightening/untightening process to follow that minimizes the stress that fractures the bracket at that trouble spot.

Forum member v8volvo can describe it much better than I, hope he chimes in here.

Appears to be a dead link.

Fixed it. It's in the D24T.com classified section Parts For Sale in case the link still does not work for you.

Tom Bryant had some improved versions built, info at the link ngoma provided. They are new castings and strengthened. His price for them was not cheap to recoup his costs but probably worth it since the originals break repeatedly and good used ones are hard or impossible to find.

The bracket comes in two styles, 240 and 740. The 240 version mounts the pump an inch or so lower to make room for the upper radiator hose to wrap around the mount. In order to achieve the lower mounting position the 240 bracket uses a right angle ear on the bottom instead of the straight boss the 740 bracket uses. Both versions are prone to breakage of that lower ear but the 240 style seems especially fragile. The 240 bracket can be used on the 740, but the 740 bracket cannot be used on the 240 because of that upper rad hose interference. Fortunately the replacement brackets Tom had made are the 240 version, so they will work on any vehicle.

In order to reduce risk of breakage, during installation it can help when tightening bolts to make an attempt to minimize stress on the bracket. Usually I will gently tighten the three upper bolts, then tighten the lower bolt, then loosen the upper bolts to allow the bracket to move to whatever position it wants, then retighten them, then loosen and retighten the lower bolt, and continue doing this until I see no movement when loosening either end. Using this method, I have never had a bracket break during use, but then again most of mine have been 740 style which are slightly more robust, and I also might just have been lucky. Your outcome might vary and any positive results related to the procedure above are anecdotal at best.

I believe the fundamental reason these have such a high rate of failure is because they are mounted on one end to the cylinder head and on the other end to the block. As the motor warms up and cools every time it runs, the aluminum head expands and grows taller, then contracts again when the engine cools off. The repeated stress cycles on the bracket caused by getting pulled on then relaxed with each thermal cycle probably is part of the issue. On top of that, the vibration from the engine and the PS pump is probably a factor, especially if the rubber pump mounting bushings are worn and allowing excess motion. Keeping those in good shape seems to help. They cost a couple of bucks each and are easy to replace when the bracket is off the car.

Im wondering whether the European version of the bracket has similar issues? (being weak? keeps breaking?)

Two questions about power steering brackets. Broken amd unbroken.
 

Is it a reliable solution to fix (weld) the broken ones?
Has anyone done that successfully?

Also, is it suggested to beef up (strengthten) existing unbroken ones?

Both my non-turbo diesels have their brackets cracked/broken (at the bottom area).

Question 3...
My turbo motor has an issue: ps belt runs visibly misaligned despite all new rubber bushings in the bracket (although it ran just fine like that for many years!).

I have a spare, turbo version of the bracket; and I was wondering about swapping that in to see if it would change something...(?)
I heard that installing one is an annoying project for real, so for now, it is simply postponed till the current one goes broken. Maybe it is broken already, but I simply can't spot the crack where it gave up? I have no idea about it (it is definitely way too cold around here for projects that aren't urgent).

I thought I would ask what your general experience was with these broken brackets.

At the risk of reopening an old thread...

I need to replace the PS bracket on my 1982 D24-powered 245 Wagon. I believe I have found a replacement bracket.

This looks like a fairly simple replacement; can anybody confirm that it can be done without disconnecting the pump from the system?

If it is a simple unbolt, replace bracket and reassemble I'll likely do it myself. If I need to drain and refill 5he system, I’ll get it to the shop.

While I’m asking questions... I see that the rubber bushings are $8.75, aftermarket poly bushings are $3, or aftermarket rubber for $1.50. Any feedback on poly vs rubber, or OEM vs aftermarket?

Many thanks in advance...

You won't have to disconnect the pump from the system. I used poly bushings but rubber may be better for absorbing the stresses that cause the cracks. Check V8Volvos tightening sequence in a previous post when you reinstall.

One of the advantages to the poly bushings is that they are not susceptible to damage from oil contamination. Pretty common for the PS pump to seep a little fluid over time which makes its way down to the rubber bushings and softens/degrades them.

You can rebuild the new bracket with fresh bushings (poly or rubber, whichever you choose) on the workbench then swap it on as GV said.

Thanks to all for your replies and help.

I got lucky and sourced a new-old-stock Volvo bracket from eBay ($95) and some OEM bushings. Then had a local Indie shop do the work.

The bracket had fractured just below the top two bolts (that go into the head) and above the third bolt. That third bolt had broken off at the threads; the top was missing and the threads were left.

The smaller bolt at the bottom of the bracket (the "ear") was found very loose -- backed off several turns. But the "ear" was not broken.

I'm not sure what to make of the broken/loose bolts.

Is the fractured bracket worth keeping for potential weld repair if needed at a future date?

I'll try to upload some pix.

Thanks again to all that replied.

-Tom in SoCal

If you can find a good aluminum welder, get it welded and keep it as a spare. Looks like a clean break and should be easy to keep it aligned while welding.

Loose/missing bolts? Maybe they were not torqued down sufficiently? These engines do vibrate profusely.I recently did troubleshoot an annoying rattle off idle that turned out to be more than a few missing/loose bolts for the A/C compressor and at its bracketry interconnections.

Looks like the bracket was torqued down without the spacers. If they are lost you could probably improvise some from the hardware store by stacking washers to get the correct height or pretty close.

Ooohh, that's right. I hadn't thought of the front engine lifting hook as a spacer but it does act as a spacer, doesn't it?

However, I had one that broke in that area even with the lifting hook/spacer in place.

The lifting hook bracket (or if the lifting hook bracket has been removed, spacers) is 4mm thick.

The lifting hook was in place.

The timing belt and water pump were replaced about 2000 miles ago by an indie Volvo shop. Other than that, Or a prior TB replacement many years ago, I don’t know why that bracket would have been off.

No matter, really. It is properly repaired now and I hope I won’t need to repair the broken one any time soon.

Thanks to all that replied.

-Tom in So Cal

The TB replacement might have disturbed it but it also might have just been coincidence. These brackets sometimes can break for no apparent reason. Sounds like all worked out well in the end.

Assume you were careful when choosing a shop to do the TB job but because you mentioned it was just done, I will ask: did you confirm that they owned and used the required special tools and procedure, in particular the locking tools for installing the front crankshaft bolt?

If they didn't then you will be dealing with problems soon that will make the PS bracket failure look like nothing.

Yes to all the TB replacement questions. The shop is an Indie Volvo specialist that was very conversant with the diesel issues. I did quiz him about the tools and he had the right answers.

Neat guy. Folks like him (extensive experience with D24) are a rare breed.

But thanks for the comments just the same.

Nice, good to hear. Always want to make sure, a fumbled timing belt attempt on these will take an otherwise good running car and turn it into dead weight despite (or even as a result of) an owner's best intentions. Clear it's in good hands, both yours and your mechanic's.

Glad it all worked out, sounds like with that major work out of the way you should be able to enjoy putting some miles on now.