libert69

iTrader: (7)

This is a very easy DIY. My power steering fluid was replaced about 50K miles ago when I had the power steering recall done so I figured Id might as well change it again.

Supplies
A friend
Turkey baster
2 feet of 3/8" rubber hose
Towels/rags
Bucket
Cardboard
2 16oz bottles of Amsoil power steering fluid

1. Put some cardboard under the front tires so the wheels will turn smoothly. You could use jack stands also.



2. Use the turkey baster and try to remove as much fluid from the reservoir as possible and dump it into your bucket. Try to get the fluid level in the reservoir below the top hose. Reason for doing so is because when you remove the upper hose, any fluid above that outlet will spill out.

3. Slide the reservoir up and remove it from the bracket (it slides up and down so you have more room to work with). Stick some rags under the reservoir to catch any spilled fluid. Remove the hose indicated by the red arrows. This is the return line. You have 2 choices at this point. Disconnect the hose directly from the reservoir or disconnect the other end that connects to the metal tube by the radiator. I removed the hose from the reservoir because its a very tight fit to remove the clamp on the other end.



4. You will probably have a few drips after removing the hose so wipe those up quickly and be careful not to get any fluid on the drive belt. Since the hose is only about 1.5 feet long you''ll have to attach your extra piece of hose to the existing one. Duct tape will work fine.





5. Stick the extra hose into your bucket and have your friend start the car. Have them turn the wheel from lock to lock a few times and all the fluid will come out. Continue to do this until the hose stops dripping.

6. Turn the car off. Remove your extra section of hose. Reattach the hose to the reservoir. Slide the reservoir back onto the bracket.

7. Add your fluid to the top line. Start the car again. As soon as the car was started, all the fluid in the reservoir was quickly pulled into the hoses and the pump and the reservoir was dry again. Turn the car off again and fill to the top line again.



8. Turn the car back on and turn the wheel from lock to lock several times while keeping the rpms at about 1000. You will hear some strange noises but don't worry. Its just the air in the system escaping. Turn the car off again and add some more fluid to the top line. Start the car again and turn the wheels from lock to lock again. Repeat this process until you hear no more noise from the pump and the fluid stays stationary at the top fill line. I needed 26 ounces.



9. Go for a quick drive and check for noises while turning. When you come back, check the fluid level and check for leaks. If everything looks good then your done.

This is what my fluid looked like after 50k miles compared to fresh amsoil fluid.



Heres a scan from the service manual regarding changing the power steering fluid that I found in another thread.

borgit

Does anyone know how often this needs to be done? I can't recall seeing a service interval anywhere in the owners manual or in the factory service manual. Currently, i am at 70k on my 06TL Auto and on original fluid (unless it was changed out when i had the hose recall done some time ago).

01tl4tl

3 years 60kmiles is considered normal in the industry

gotkilled

iTrader: (1)

do they flush out the ps fluid when replacing the power steering pump? i doubt it but i'm just curious.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

If your referring to the the service bulletin then yes, they flush the fluid.

LebaneseShowoff

Was this a recall on all 06 TL's? My friend's car has a stiff wheel when the car is stopped, i don't know if this could cause it.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

the recall was for a power steering hose that could possibly leak fluid onto the catalytic converter and cause a fire

applies to
2004–06 TL – ALL
2007 TL – ALL except Type S
2008 TL – From VIN 19UUA....8A000001 thru 19UUA....8A005506 (except Type S with M/T)

heres the link
http://www.in.honda.com/Rjanisis/pubs/SB/b08-016.pdf

csmeance

As far as running the pump dry is concerned, before anyone voices concerns please read this thread:
https://acurazine.com/forums/car-parts-sale-361/anybody-got-cl-type-s-rims-sale-trade-173686/

spicynoodle116

thanks for the write up. im planning to do this when it stops raining x_x

is Acura's PS fluid better or Amsoil?

libert69

iTrader: (7)

I guess thats up for debate but Amsoil power steering fluid is synthetic if that makes any difference to you.

http://www.amsoil.com/storefront/psf.aspx

My steering wheel does seem lighter now but I bet it would feel that way with new acura/honda fluid as well

spicynoodle116

the thing is, I have a small bottle of Acura's PS fluid when I changed the O-Ring. It was opened like half a year ago. If i could still use it, I'd just buy 1 more bottle of Acura's.

erick3

Question: when I went to go buy the O-ring from my local Honda dealer, I remember it being TONS cheaper. Sure Honda and Acura are the same company, but is it okay to interchange the two? I'm assuming yes, but the bottles look convincing (to be different).

01tl4tl

honda ps fluid and acura ps fluid are the same product inside the bottle
same for auto trans fluid

Opened fluids have a shelf life, toss the amz and go all honda
It has secret sauce the system likes

When the recall for hose replacement is done they do NOT change the fluid, thats still up to you

Brake fluid also needs to be flushed-

01tl4tl

its often safer and easier to use a larger diameter piece of garden hose that goes around the return line (instead of inside it) and secures with a hose clamp !

ps fluid is really hard to clean up~

no need to suction the res before starting- it will all pump out, then you can add fresh fluid and repeat.. in order to move all the old crud out

spicynoodle116

thanks again libert69 for the DIY. my steering felt a lot lighter now. i used to think theres something wrong with my car in the suspension/wheel department but the PS fluid flush fixed it somewhat, if not completely. the old fluid was really dark compared to the new acura's fluid... its like white grape juice and regular grape juice haha.

some things to note for other ppl planning to do this:

get a hose with a bigger inside diameter to go around the stock return hose like 01tl4tl suggested, and/or a hose that can be stretched easily. i wasted 45min trying to fit the hose i bought around the return hose. duck tape method is no good and it can get messy.

DeathMetal

iTrader: (2)

I'll take AMSOIL any day over any fluid

libert69

iTrader: (7)

if you check the link I provided regarding the hose recall, you can see right on the instructions that one of the required materials for the recall is "up to 3 bottles of power steering fluid"

I checked my invoice for this recall and there was 2 bottles of fluid on the invoice under parts so they definetly change some of the fluid. maybe not a complete drain and fill but they replace whatever they lose from swapping the hose

libert69

iTrader: (7)

I totally agree about using the larger hose over the stock 3/8 hose with a clamp.

you can use a 3/8 hose if you remove the stock hose from the metal tube by the radiator and attach your longer hose at that point. duct tape was the cheap was out but it still worked for me

if you disconnect the return line from the reservoir, fluid will leak out until it reaches below that point. thats why I suggest sucking some out before removing the return line.

01tl4tl

the recall may say up to 3 qts--thats in case it leaks during line change and to allow for some to top off the system

I dont care what your invoice says- you dont think thats really honest do you??
Dealer charges acura for 2 bottles, tech uses less than 1...its called profit

subinf

That's pretty common, even at independent shops. I would hardly break down the amount of fluid used on the invoice unless it was an oil change. Otherwise it was just done by bottles/qts/etc.

mmade22

I like this DIY...Simple as can be.

borgit

I am curious why Honda doesn't make a specific recommendation as to the change interval. For every other fluid in the car, they give a specific years/mileage or make it part of the maintenance minder system.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

what I said before...."maybe not a complete drain and fill but they replace whatever they lose from swapping the hose"

Majofo

Nice DIY libert69.. you beat me to it.

You should do another drain & fill though.. it's still looks shitty. Also a recommendation from 240sx (acura master tech) is to replace the reservoir & the two feed lines. I guess the reservoir has strain gate that catches crap in the system & it's best to replace it.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

i was thinking about doing another drain and fill. what fluid looks shity? the amsoil on the napkin is brand new fluid

interesting idea bout the reservoir. ill look into that

Majofo

really? The amsoil fluid looks pretty dark..

libert69

iTrader: (7)

yup...i poured some straight from the bottle onto the napkin lol

NAiL05

Because some other auto makers use ATF for there power steering fluid. That breaks down over time also. I would just stick with the Honda fluid. Its what they recommend and thats what I will use. Amsoil is a good brand but not in this case when the manufacturer uses this product. The MTF and Engine oil dont count. I use synchromesh and Amsoil for the engine oil.

borgit

So what does that have to do with the fact that Honda doesn't recommend a change interval? Do you think that it implies that Honda thinks that the PS fluid is a lifetime fluid?

Majofo

Not putting a change interval guarantees their service shop stays in business.

borgit

LOL. That's probably true. I change my oil at a local place and the dude is always telling me in his accented english "your power steering fluid dark". He keeps wanting to flush my system and put some non-Honda fluid in there for a mere $59.99. I keep telling him i'll do it next time. I currently have 70k on my 06TL, i guess when the weather gets warmer i'll flush it myself with the Honda stuff.

How often do dealerships recommend to change it? Anyone know?

apnorm

iTrader: (3)

nice write up...thanks!

Westy6

Thanks for the DIY libert.

Did this today myself, easy enough and feels reassuring knowing PS fluid is taken care of!

NOTE: To make the flushing of the old PS fluid out of the return line easier, I took the DIY a step further. I wasn't sure what type or size of hose to use, and didn't want to spill PS fluid all over.

I'll post pics once I can, I bought a 5/8", 3-foot long heater hose from Advanced auto parts for like 4 bucks. This fit Perfectly over the 3/8" (the smaller one) return line, once you unhook it from the PS fluid reservoir. It takes a bit of force, but once on it fits snug and didn't leak a drop.

I'll add pictures here shortly.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

I ended up doing a 2nd flush last week. This time I wound up getting an additional 4-5 ounces of fluid out as opposed to the first time by turning the wheels from lock to lock about 8 times. Also, the fluid was browish in color again so that tells me that not all the fluid came out in the first flush.

I also replaced the reservoir and the hoses. Inside the reservoir there was an additional 1 ounce of brownish fluid in there that would only come out when I turned it upside, removed the 2 hoses and drained it from the hose opening.

Inaccurate

I think that the psf is similar to the atf where you are replacing just a percentage of the total. So, I think that the psf may require multiple flushes too like the atf.

Here is why I think this. The Service Manual states that a new power steering system requires 1.1 liters of fluid.





When I drained and refilled mine, it took only approx 400 ml (or 0.4 liter) to refill the system. However, I did do mine the lazy way by just drawing the fluid out of the reservoir, turning wheel lock-to-lock, draw out more fluid out of the reservoir. I made sure that I had removed as much as possible when using the lazy method. I started the car (front end lifted on jack stands), turned the wheel full lock both ways, until the pump was growling from being dry.

For my lazy method, I replaced just 36% (400 ml / 1100 ml) of the fluid in the system.

I am not considering my power steering fluid as being changed until I have done about 4 refills, similar to doing with the atf.

Actually, I plan to do a single drain of the psf reservoir with each engine oil change at every 3000 miles. I do this with the atf too.

01tl4tl

doing the diy method twice in a row- so you empty- refill-empty- refill the ps system will get most of the crud out of its hiding places.
No method short of rack replacement will get every drop

Westy6

Here are the pictures of the 5/8" x 3ft heater hose connected to the return line to flush the system.

Notice the turkey baster

FYI: The electrical tape was just a precaution and is not really necessary to hold the hoses together while you drain the system. If you muscle the 5/8" hose over the return line end it will go on, I got about 3/4" in and had no spills.








Also I forgot to mention I did replace the PS reservoir as well, but I couldn't find the "Filter Element" for the life of me anywhere inside it. Is there really a filter in there??

Inaccurate

West,

Do you recall how much fluid was used to refill the system after your flush?

And, thanks for the pics.

Majofo

Nice.. The filter should actually be a screen at the bottom of the res which is not removable. You should replace the res with a new one.

libert69

iTrader: (7)

Mine took 28 ounces the second flush and thats with a new reservoir. So there was still about 9 ounces in there that I didnt get