So i was at firestone the other day getting my wheels aligned and tires rotated and then guy pointed out a leak i have. He mentioned this was apart of my power steering and it was that fluid that is leaking. Apparently if I wanted to fix it I would need to replace the whole rack and pinions and pump or something like that, not exactly sure.

I've known my powersteering fluid has been leaking for quite a while, but I never looked at how bad it was. Now I dunno if it looks this bad because its just been leaking for a while or if it is actually bad.



My question is, is this something that needs to be fixed asap or can i wait it out?

 

You might try Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak first.

 

ohh interesting, never heard of this before. So do I just put this in with the rest of my power steering fluid?

 

Instructions on bottle.
In short add 4 - 8 ounces in you PS res.
In a few days it will lube the seals.
Does not work on High Pressure componets.

 

that fluid is probably from the steering rack seal on that end--its leaked out and onto the runner boot for tie rod,,
you can verify by peeling back the boot at end of rack and watch fluid go everywhere~

Have you been pouring a half a can or more of fluid in per week? it looks that serious!
some fluid flushing out of old crud stuff, then new fluid and some stop leak for ps
is all you can do== without replacing several hundred dollars worth of parts,,the rack and the ps pump

this is a good reminder to all to keep up on your fluid changes: ps fluid every 3 years 60 kmiles
brake fluid every year--every 2 years,,3 max and the fluid is garbage and eating away at seals just like this ps did!!

 

others with minor ps leak ck the hose clamps- they use the cheap squeeze clamps
and a few good `screw type` instead may fix you up

 

Last time I topped off the ps fluid was probably 4 or 5 months back, i can't remember i could be way off. But i know for sure not the last 3 months.

Its at the low level right now, so I'm gonna top it off. And I'll note the day and observe to see how fast its going down. But its not that fast, its just this thing has been leaking for probably more than a year.

I dont like seeing it like this

But my dad will probably say no to the flush, I dont think our brakes have been flushed for a couple years either.

Gonna make sure this stuff doesnt happen when I get my own car.

 

send him to wikipedia for: hygroscopic on why to change those fluids

read many stories on azine of brake fluid changes done late/never = failed calipers-master cyl etc
all for 5 dollars of fluid and 30 minutes of your time

ps leak: if you want to add stop leak to it,,and fluid really looks like it does in the pic, that fluid is old and done- lost lubricating ability, and crud filled from outside road dirt getting IN past the bad seal
thats only going to make it worse as grit constantly gets to attack all the parts and pump internals = faster to total failure point

your choices are: spend ~30 bucks in parts now and get some life from it
while you decide to replace the car or the parts- ck auto recycle yards/junkyards or online search for rebuilt steering rack + acura (insert your year and model)
or
Do nothing, wait till an end seal inside the rack explodes--sudden loss of pressure in the steering should be pretty exciting for the driver
Lets home mom doesnt drive it!!
that may be in another 12 months or 50 miles,,you just never know--- once you find a leak...

 

use some cleaner like simple green, any orange/citrus based product- they are gentle on rubber
drain any fluid trapped inside the end boot on the steering rack,,, and clean up the mess

 

Those boots should be serviceable. I was a tech at Nissan for years and we used to service these as an up sale. Try removing and replacing it. Acura sales the boot separately

 

The boots aren't the leak. They are replaceable but the leak is the seal inside the end of the steering rack. Which means either replace the rack or rebuild. Here is the seal that is the failed part.(#1 on the left)

 

alright, I'll see if I can convince him. Fluid flush and add the stop leak should help prolong it right? For the flush, is it a simple DIY, like an oil change? I dunno if I ever saw a PS fluid flush DIY in our DIY section, I'll have a second look. And can this be done without lifting the car?

I'm pretty sure it should be a simple DIY. Drain fluid and you put in fluid and drain again a couple times to get that dirt out. SOmething like that right?

 

sort of
--ck the diy list or search for it if not in there, I know its posted

you buy a piece of garden hose scrap at hardware store- diameter just bigger then the return hose to res,,the upper hose (diy has size)

dont worry about sucking the res dry by hand- the pump will do that for you~

Unplug the return line from res and attach new `drain hose` WITH hose clamp or 2 OVER the return line,,,make sure that thing is not going to seperate!!

Note to those reading owner book to argue: acura says use smaller hose inside res line and clamp, but thats been PROVEN to blow out easily and spray ps fluid everywhere

place drain hose into a gallon type plastic catch can, start car-
with cardboard under wheels, have helper turn wheels to their stop- each direction and back the other way -that will push out the fluid in the lines and rack

it wont hurt anything to run it dry for a few seconds--acura says to do this way

reattach hose and refill res- start engine and as fluid gets sucked in- turn wheels to push thru rack and burp air from the system

If fluid looked really bad- repeat the push out draining again
refill- burp--see how fluid looks coming back thru res now
all clean new fluid? you are done,,still blackish--repeat process

Yes, its all done from above the car