To me 2003 Diamond Pearl 2003 TL type S purchased yesterday, added 70 miles to the 139,000 already on it. Wife drives it to her part time job today, as shes leaving hears a "strange noise" on start up, loses power steering and by the time she gets the 7 miles driven to the house, power steering fluid all over right front corner of the car and the fluid is "boiling" not foaming inside the reservoir. With that said i will probably be seeking some guidance from those of you far more familiar with this make and particular model since in that first 70 miles I absolutely fell in love with this vehicle! Heading out to trouble shoot and see what I can find.

 

I'm unsure of what the real problem may be, but had it showed any signs of problems when you first test drove and checked the car out ? Many times the fluid is neglected and could have been low or just gunked up. Anyways, do you think that it would be worth talking to the seller....since you only just bought it like....yesterday, you said ?

Oh well, if you're in love and want to just fix the wife's car.....my suggestion would be to first check the fluid and then drain/refill/purge the ps unit, check the pulley and belt. Try it out again...if no go, buy another pump and hope for the best !

 

For your input here. My first thought was to contact the car lot that sold me the car and see what they may or may not do since the car was sold to me as is no warranty. Naturally, the vehicle malfunctioned one hour after the lot closed for the weekend,and I have to go out of town so wont be able to deal with them face to face, figures right? As far as the test drive and initial inspection of the vehicle goes, and this is the part that gets me, the car drove fantastic, exterior, interior, and engine bay are all immaculate. Three owner car that was obviously from inspection well cared for. Engine oil and trans fluid both very clean and although I didnt pull the cap on the PS reservoir I did check for correct capacity and it was just under the full line, though in hindsight it did look a little dirty. Can't locate any line leaks, as far as symptoms go, when i run the car and turn the wheel it goes from very hard to turn to momentarily acting like the ps is going to work then pukes ps fluid out of the top of the reservoir even blowing the red plastic cap off the top of the tank at one point. I was wondering if the o ring issue I have read about on here applies to the 2g cars or if its 3g specific, would be nice if it was only a couple dollar fix, though I suspect the ps pump has failed and hope its not the rack thats causing this.

 

car lots often change engine oil as that makes buyer think car was well cared for!
a spotless engine is usually one that was filthy and the detailer made the whole car look like new again=sales tricks!

we have oring probs on ps
and we get rack probs from never flushing ps fluid
ck inside the boots on outer end of rack for fluid leak there=blown seal

 

Hey Zero, since your ps unit puked......you might want to consider buying some Honda PS fluid, about 1.5 qts. and attempt to start from fresh.

To drain the old fluid from the pump and rack: loosen and lift the ps reservoir up, then remove the bottom return hose from it, draining the contents into a catch container, have someone start the motor, then at idle have them to turn the steering wheel all the way from left to right a few times, until fluid stops coming out of the removed hose, stop the motor.

Inspect the fluid and dispose of, put hose back on and refill ps reservoir to fill line. Restart motor at fast idle, then turn wheels fully to each side to redistribute fluid back into system. Recheck fluid level and top off to fill line. Clean everything all up and check belt tension. With the car safely supported, get up underneath and look over the steering box, rack, all hoses and line fittings for leaks.

If the ps pump still continues to make noises and starts it's puking act again, you may need to further research the o-ring and other possible problems.