POWER STEERING DRIVE BELT NOISE AND OR WEAR INFORMATION

POWER STEERING DRIVE BELT NOISE AND/OR WEAR

VEHICLES AFFECTED: 1988 CUTLASS CALAIS, GRAND AM, SOMERSET/SKYLARK EQUIPPED WITH QUAD-4 (L2) ENGINE

Some early built 1988 "N" model vehicles with Quad-4 (L2) engine may exhibit power steering drive belt noise and/or premature wear.

These conditions may be due to one of the following:

1. Power steering pump pulley not fully pressed on.

2. Power steering pulley to cam pulley misalignment. This can be caused by the pulley not being fully seated, or the bracketry not being tightened down in proper sequence.

3. Belt being off one groove on power steering pump pulley. This can result from either 1 or 2 above.

4. Belt tension too low.

If any of these conditions are encountered, they can be corrected using the following procedures:

A. If the pulley is not fully pressed on, the pump should be removed following the procedure in section 3B3 of the New Product Service Manual. Fully seat the pulley using tool J36015, without the spacer. When fully seated, the distance from the rear face of the pump assembly to line parallel to the front face of the pulley should be between 120.77 mm (4 3/4") and 122.17 mm (4 13/16"). See Figure 1.

B. Inspect the power steering pump belt. Replace if necessary.

C. If the pulley is fully pressed on, but there appears to be some misalignment between the pump pulley and the cam pulley, loosen bolts 'A', 'B', and 'C' as shown in Figure 2. Retighten bolts and set belt tension following the sequence shown in the figure.

General Motors bulletins are intended for use by professional technicians, not a "do-it-yourselfer". They are written to inform those technicians of conditions that may occur on some vehicles, or to provide information that could assist in the proper service of a vehicle. Properly trained technicians have the equipment, tools, safety instructions and know-how to do a job properly and safely. If a condition is described, do not assume that the bulletin applies to your vehicle, or that your vehicle will have that condition. See a General Motors dealer servicing your brand of General Motors vehicle for information on whether your vehicle may benefit from the information.