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Car Forum / Honda Cars / December 200489 accord power steering line leaking
Hello, I've got an '89 Accord with 250,000 miles and this morning I found out I had no power steering fluid in the reservoir. I took my wifes nice new van to work and when I came home I topped up the reservoir and after starting the car I lost it all again in a matter of a few seconds. I looked under tha car and sure enough the fluid was running out on the ground from around the rack area. I got under as far as I could and I believe it is leaking from the pressure line from the pump just before the nut at the rack. I've got a haynes and a chiltons book on this car and its the bigger of the steel lines (17mm) coming out the back of the rack on the right hand side. I don't think its the rack. I'll need to take off the shield under the rack tomorrow to be sure though. Does anyone have any experience with this? Is this somethning a so, so home mechanic can do? Are these steel lines even available? Do you need to go to the dealer for them? That would be an awful long line from the rack to the pump. Is there any unions or anything between the rack and the pump or do you need to replace the whole thing? Can you cut out the bad section and use hydraulic hose and hose clamps or would that not hold? Any info anyone can give would be greatly appreciated as this car is worth a lot to me even though it's so old. It gets me to work everyday and still starts on the coldest of winter days. I've had this car for 13 years and my kids would cry if I had to get rid of it! Thanks Andy Sorry it's a 14mm nut not 17mm > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Thanks > Andy > Sorry it's a 14mm nut not 17mm > [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] >>Thanks >>Andy gotta be sure of the leak origin andy - pointless replacing that hose if it's not the cause. yes, all the lines are available. not cheap, but oem is more reliable than any home made repair. buy the correct size flare nut wrench before even trying to unbolt - they're in there tight & once you round the flats off with the wrong tool, your only solution is a plumbers pipe wrench. the plumbers pipe wrench does the job just great, but you gotta take half the car apart to have sufficient room to work it. buy the right flare nut wrench! a good one that won't open out on you!!! Other advice, once you determine where the leak is at and get it fixed, flush the system out with Honda Power Steering Fluid. Honda uses special fluid. Use of other fluids such as ATF will cause the seals in the power steering rack to fail. Eric > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Thanks > Andy I did one of these on my son's car about three years ago. Got the hose at NAPA, and also a set of flare wrenches. I tied a heavy string to the lower end of the hose (it was the one that runs across the front of the engine) and pulled it out from the top. I then used the string to help me remember where the replacement hose went, and to help pull it back under the car. One of the harder jobs I've done, but the car ran well for another year, and my son sold it for $500 when he bought his '98. bob I got the guard off tonight and found out it was actually the return line to the reservoir that was leaking. I got the old fitting out and used a hacksaw to cut off the bad section of steel tubing. Went down to a local garage and they gave me a new piece of flared tubing with a new nut. Ended up the new nut was too short and wouldn't bottom the flared tubing out in the control body. I took the old nut back to the garage and got it cleaned up and a piece of tubing on it. Connecting the new nut and tubing to the old tubing with rubber hose and hose clamps started up the car topped up the fluid bled the lines and then the fluid went down again. The same line started leaking again just a few inches from the new rubber hose on the original steel line. I'm gonna have to buy more rubber hose and replace it right up to the top of the left fender just before the reservoir. The other lines do look bad and i'll probablt replace the high pressure hose soon. Having four kids and a stay at home wife makes my money have to go in many directions. This car is just my old get around car. I've got a new Chev Venture my wife uses so I'll hopefully be able to keep my old Accord on the road a little longer. I did buy a flare nut wrench but still couldn't get the nut out with it, I had to use a large pipewrench which did chew up one flat of the nut some. Oh well it worked. Let you know how I make out tomorrow with the rest of the rubber hose. > Hello, > [quoted text clipped - 24 lines] > Thanks > Andy You can remove the power steering belt if you need to drive the car before you get a chance to permanently fix this problem. The steering will be a bit heavier than normal but it should be fine. It will be better for the pump as you don't want it to run dry and it will be better for the environment as you won't be leaking power steering fluid all over the place. Eric > I got the guard off tonight and found out it was actually the return line > to the reservoir that was leaking. I got the old fitting out and used a [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Let you know how I make out tomorrow with the rest of the rubber > hose. |
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