Got a bit more done on the power steering setup.
Before attacking a $40 lump of aluminum I thought It's be a good idea to make sure my serpentine pulley machining was up to snuff. I had to make a new alternator pulley as I'm going to drive it with a 4PK belt of it's own. I grabbed a piece of 60mm diameter billet and started machining. As you can see I've had a couple of goes to get it right.
The tool steel is ground at a 40 degree angle and I've cut the grooves at a 3.56mm pitch. Numbers I got from the belt specs on the Gates web page.
Here I'm trial fitting the pulley to check the alignment with a neat tool I picked at a swap meet years ago. It's a lazer alignment tool for V belts and multi rib belts. It aligns from the grooves in one pulley and shoots a beam at the other that you can line against. It's one of those tool that you don't use very often but when you do it makes the job so much easier.
Happy with the alignment. now I can clean it up and make it look nice.
With the serpentine machining set up working I could get back to the big lump of aluminum. There's a huge pile of swarf on the lathe now because like any complex shape you machine you have to start with a big piece of material and remove an awful lot of it. I reckon more than 2/3 of the original material has been machined off to reveal this pulley. A heap more material came out after this pic.
The back of the pulley is the important stuff. It has to run true and it also sets up the belt alignment. The shaft on the pump is 3/4" diameter but I've machine the hole .002" undersize for a press fit.
The front side is all about making it look nice. I've machined a center cap to cover the retaining bolt and then turned the whole thing as one piece.
Trial fitting and checking the alignment and how true it runs.
Pulleys all finished. Just measuring up to order some belts. Might have to machine up a new water pump pulley too as it's looking a bit scruffy next to it's fancy new friends.
Cheers
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