Quick questions:


I'm reading through the Helms for the Power Steering flush and it says disconnect the return hose to drain the reservoir.

So once I take the hose out and pour all the fluid from the reservoir, am I suppose to plug it with anything?

I only ask because they say to turn on the engine next once I attached a tube for draining on the return hose. (what size hose should I buy and where?)

Also, how many bottles should I buy of PS fluid? they sell them in 12oz bottles but am I looking at reservoir capacity or system capacity?


any ideas would be a great help. thanks

 

Some months back I replaced a lot of the fluid, but not all, using one bottle. I don't remember finding an exact volume, but I do know that I siphoned out 12 oz so that I wouldn't be short. Had I known I would have gotten two bottles, but two is more than you need.

I did it at 65k and it was full of dirt. Do go through the whole procedure of running the car and turning the wheel, only way to purge the lines. Makes a horrible squealing noise, but don't worry about it.

 

when are you suppose to do a power streering flush?

 

You're suppose to check the PS fluid every 20,000 miles and if it's dirty flush it.

 

Just as an FYI, you don't necessarily ever need to flush it. If you siphon most of th reservoir and do that twice, you get a lot of the old stuff out. There really isn't a need to get all of the bad fluid out. I think I have flushed it once on our 95 Accord and everything still working normally. This is probably the only thing I would say you don't need to religiously do on a Honda/Acura.

 

I'm getting a whine when I'm going slow speeds and turning the wheel, any correlation with dirty fluid or do you guys think the pump might be calling it quits?

 

^^There is normally a faint sounding whine when turning the wheel; which I've heard from day 1 of owning my TSX.

Here's what you do to figure if it's dirty PS fluid and/or PS pump failing.
For fluid, stick your finger in the PS fluid reservoir (good idea to have a latex glove on). The normal color should be pink. If it's black, time to replace the fluid.
For pump, you'll need another person to help. With the hood up, position yourself next to the PS pump (it's the left top device with a pulley). While the car is on, running, and parked, have your friend turn the wheel from lock to lock. If you hear grinding or another sound that doesn't sound right from the pump as your buddy is turning the wheel, then the pump is failing.

 

Is the power steering fluid generic (DOT-x), or is it Honda specific?

Planning to change it in the next week or so..

 

It's Honda-specific - don't use any generic stuff.
And it's not DOT-x; that's a brake fluid designation. It is preferred that you not mix the two - sarcasm intended...

 

haha... ok

That's what I thought. I'm familiar with all the other fluids, just never really changed my power steering fluids in my cars...

 

Any ideas where to get it online?

 

Why not go to your local Honda dealer and purchase it from their parts department?

 

Because they charge $9.99 a pint! Talk about markup.

I called a couple of dealers outside the area and they said $3.xx a pint

 

Damn, talk about mark up! I recently picked up 2 12 fl. oz Honda power steering fluid from the local Honda dealer for $5/bottle. Anyways, here's a website I like getting regular maintanence stuff from in bulk. They sell Honda PS Fluid for $2.95/bottle.

http://www.handa-accessories.com/index.html

 

Oh cool... didn't know HandA sells PS fluid too... I used to order most of the stuff from them too.

 

i checked handa, i dont' see ps fluid...

 

You can find it under the Accord menu.

 

I just siphoned my power steering fluid and like an idiot i spilled some on what i think is the a/c controller, the thing right above the steering fluid fluid container. It has like many little 1/4 inch tubes coming out of it almost like a spider kind of. And even worse i got 3 little drops on the drive belt. Am i screwed? I wiped everything off with a rag the best i could.

 

negative

 

The dealership told me that they need to flush out the power steering fluid since it's dark liquid now. I followed the directions in doing it myself by buying 2 pints of Acura power steering fluids and changing out the fluids twice. Between the change outs, I turned on the engine and turned the wheel all the way to the left and right. I can see after changing out the fluids twice, the liquid is somewhat lighter in color but not as clean looking as the color that came right out from the bottle. Do I need to do it a third time or is this enough? How are the experience of other people in sucking out the dirty fluids with a turkey baster and pouring in fresh fluids? Thanks.

 

The system capacity is about 1.1L, and 3 bottles will ALMOST cover it. I just did the flush myself and used all 3 bottles (not using the turkey-baster method). The fluid looks about 99% clearer now.

2 bottles is only about 1/2 to 2/3 of the capacity, so obviously there's some dirty fluid in there still. However, the turkey baster method won't get ALL of the old fluid out like the flush will... you're just diluting the old with a lot of the new, which is acceptable for sure, but I prefer the full flush.

If I were you, I'd just do the procedure one or two more times, depending on your sensitivity to the cost of the fluid.