Hey mwadden - i live near santa monica and the 405 haha I actually never got around to installing a new steering rack and probably won't until ive added more miles to the car - seems the replacement is to fix wear-and-tear while the steering fluid pump (or a specific component of it (valve housing i believe it is)) is what makes the difference in steering resistance. I haven't had the time to look into it that much yet tho

Been lurking around here for over 2 years...and love this forum. I feel that it's time for me to contribute something back. By that I mean something concrete and fact-based which is really what most people are looking for. I have documented lots of evidence and pictures over the past year while performing the work on my car. The work I performed was at the guidance of many threads and DIYs here on the forum for which I am very grateful for. I am on the constant quest for a car that drives and runs very well...almost new you could say. Unfortunately with any car you will have weak points....and even Honda has them...but thankfully they are minimal and typically not an impairment to actually starting up and getting to your location. I love this car and hope to keep at least past 200k. :-)