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Hello everyone! I am new here but familiar with the site. I have searched for this problem and have found similar issues but this one is staying consistent.
Anyways I have a 2000 Acura TL with 156,000 miles.
I recently took my car to a shop to get a belt replaced and the wheels aligned.
After I picked my car up when they let me know it was finished, I pulled out of the parking lot and I was hearing a slight whining noise. I figured it was just the new belt needing to break in.
I turned onto a different road and began to hear really bad whine coming from the hood, almost like a weed-eater. I pull into a gas station and pop the hood to find the power steering reservoir overflowing. I called the shop to tell them that I was coming back in because of what I found.
After an hour they pulled my car back around and said they got rid of the problem by flushing it twice and getting some sludge out of the lines. I drove the car home without any problems.
Later that night, I decided to take a short drive to test the car and to get some beer only to hear that whining noise coming from the hood again. I parked the car and lifted the hood and found the reservoir was fine, not puking everywhere, but a loud whine coming from the pulley where they put the new belt.
I did some research (some on this website and youtube) and found that the o-ring goes bad and needs to be changed.
i figured ""ok, well then I will get an o-ring and replace it on monday when the dealership and shops are open"
I dont drive my car all weekend. Monday comes and I am driving to the dealership and I hear other squeaky noises coming from the car when I let go of the wheel and found out quickly they did not align the wheels correctly.
I pass by the shop and decide to turn around and take it to them because I feel like they were the cause of it and should fix it. I am there for two hours before they tell me I need to either replace the O-ring or get a new power steering pump. I said to go with the o-ring first because I do not have the money for a new pump. I couldnt have them do the work then because I had to go to work.
I keep checking my car while I am at work and notice fluid on the bottom of my car. The front right side in front of and behind the wheel. I figured oh great the p/s lines are leaking. I check the reservoir and its fluctuating in levels. It'll be at the low level line then at the high level line. This is for monday and tuesday night. I finally got my car to the shop today (wednesday) and I am there for an hour.
They replaced the o-ring and flushed the p/s again and rotated the tires. I drove home with the car feeling strong and noise free. However, a couple hours later I get in the car to go down the street to the grocery store and the whine is back. The whining is back especially when I turn the steering wheel and there is a lot of p/s fluid in the reservoir. Its near the top of the canister.
I am wondering if they might possibly know I have a leak and thats why they put so much p/s fluid in it. I know what they'll say if I take it back and thats that I will need a new p/s pump.
I really dont feel like I can trust them anymore. I am at my ends with this problem and not sure what to do.
Any tips?
Welcome to the forum! You came to the right place.
First of all, a couple things:
* We must use Honda P/S fluid ONLY.
* The P/S belt has a very specific values for tightness. The deflection method is used and I think it's 1 inch at 20lbs force BUT don't quote me on that.
Just going off of what you said, my guess is they torqued your belt down too tight and that can cause failure in the pump bearing, especially on older pumps. The leaky o-ring I believe is on the low-pressure side of the pump. The best way to tell if you have an air leak is to check your reservoir - if you have tiny air bubbles in it then that's how you tell.
We need to know where your p/s fluid is leaking though. Check all over, it could be leaking in the p/s rack, there's also a speed sensor in the transmission for the p/s system (not present if you have a TL-S). Here's a diagram of the P/S system for your reference. Let us know where it's leaking.
OK your belt should be broken in by now. So for your belt, using the deflection method, the belt should deflect inward from 0.51 - 0.65 inches when a force of 22 ft/lb is applied to the belt. See the pic for reference.
If the deflection is less than this, then there's a good chance they damaged your pump (especially since it's old) and IMO they owe you a new one. They're somewhat expensive.
I'd consider having a mechanic or dealer document the deflection for you so you have some ammo to come after them with.
I seem to recall someone using a fish weight to measure deflection - just hook it to the belt and pull it in the direction of the arrow to 22 lbs and measure how far in the belt goes.
Thats all really good information. I am going to a different mechanic suggested by one of my friends as trustworthy and will advise him of what you guys had told me to look for.
My new concerns are that they put in the wrong fluid...any way to confirm the differences in the fluid? and that they did the belt wrong to damage the p/s pump.
If in fact they did I would love to get them to replace it all for free....or at least the funds to do it since I dont trust them
Above I mentioned a 'fish weight' - I meant fish 'scale'
The best way to know what they used would be to call them - say something like "I need to buy some more of the same kind because it's low again" so they don't know you're on to them. But I would get the deflection tested either yourself or at another shop and if it's too tight then bring it in and get them to replace your pump. Non-honda P/S fluid apparently will NOT work at all in our systems, from what I've heard. I guess that means steering would be difficult if you used non honda fluid?
Also, another thought occurred to me, the pump makes very different noises depending on the situation:
* Too loose - high-pitched scream/squeal
* Too tight - whine
* P/S fluid low - buzzing noise
Also it's not unheard of for the hoses that run toward the bottom of the engine compartment and along the sub frame to rust out and start leaking. So I would definitely check for leaks elsewhere.
For example, mine is leaking somewhere near the steering rack - the bottom of my transmission is wet with what I assume is P/S fluid - I have to add a bit to my reservoir every 6-8 months.
I took it to a mechanic suggested by a friend of mine and told him the story and showed him everything. He touched the belt and said that he could tell just from that that it was too tight.
he even pointed out the high fluid level in the reservoir.....even after the drop in level overnight due to a drip coming from somewhere i havent found yet. Its gotta be near the bottom close to the front bumper
he told me the tight belt is messing up the p/s pump and to go talk to the last shop and tell them i saw another mechanic and he advised me of all this information and they should replace the pump for free since they broke it by not doing their job right or sue them for the repair costs.
As I am leaving this mechanic my p/s isnt whining anymore. I'm like seriously? So I drive it all around a parking lot turning every which way. I turned it off and let it sit to cool down then started up again only to hear no whine. I thought if I dont even have that anymore how am I supposed to go in there to present a problem. However if the leak persist and the fluid level (which I am taking pictures of every couple of hours) keeps going down then at least I have that. Then hit them with everything else.
10-21-2015, 07:41 PM
