hey guys i have a 00 tl with about 172k and i have two noticeable problems. any help would be appreciated. #1 i have a squeaky noise when turning my steering wheel left to right when stood still or driving slowly and usually about 50-65 degrees F outside. sounds like a slow door creek. what could this problem be? and couldit be related to my number #2 problem which i noticed a slow ps fluid leak. last week i topped off my ps reservoir to the top line and this week during my weekly fluid inspection i noticed it was already about 1/2 full at the very bottom line of the ps fluid reservoir. could this be a bad seal or something? there are no noticeable stains or leaks so what could this be??? and is it related to the steering wheel creek in someway? thanks guys

 

They are indeed related. Find the leak, fix the leak, stop the noise.

 

cool. any other suggestions from bany one else? or any experiences? is it dangerous to drive like this? can my ps pump go at any second?

 

Anybody out there that can help? suspension sound is a low squeaky sound. only makes it when turning the steering wheel??? no sound comes out of it when u push down on the suspension in the front. it goes up and down normally with no sound when pushing on the hood/fender on both front sides? could this be a endlink or ball joint? it does have a squeaky door sound i dont think its related to the small ps leak or is it? any help please!

 

Powering steering pumps make the most noise when turning the wheels while stopped or at a low speed - that's when the power steering pump is working the hardest. It's a lot easier to turn the wheels when at driving speed. You actually shouldn't try to turn the wheels when at a dead stop.

Since you are losing fluid, and you are hearing the sound when turning, low fluid will cause the power steering pump to be even louder. You may need a new ps pump, but maybe you just need to find the leak so the fluid will stay full. Probably time to change the fluid as well.

 

thanks so much for your help jdjohn84

i refilled the fluid to the appropriate level so its not low. been checking it daily so far and it lost a tiny bit but still good

the leak is hard to find i been looking and looking and cant come up with anything. might just have to take it to my mechanic to check this one out.

the fluid was changed about 2-3 weeks ago with a flush. it looked real foamy and milky when it was changed. there was an obvious difference in the reservoir when the new fluid was in there it was almost clear. but now it seems like its getting darker and frothy again. in only 2-3 weeks wtf!

 

Go by and read this thread. It has some good information that might point you in the right direction.
https://acurazine.com/forums/showthr...steering+noise

 

Just Came From my mechanic and he found the leak!

He cleaned up the engine bay a little by the ps reservoir and ps pump. ran the car at around 2k rpms while turning the wheel left to right for about 10-15 mins and rechecked for leaks in the area. found a minor leak in the ps pump, so its about to give out i assume, and a small leak on one of the hoses attached to the reservoir. now here go the prices

Re-manufactured Power Steering Pump Price - $380
Core Price Worth - $50
Parts and Labor Total - $480 but i was able to talk him down to $450

now he offered me an aftermarket ps pump for about $150 but i dont know how reliable they are? anybody gone aftermarket on the ps pump?? is it worth it to save a little cash?

i also checked acuraoemparts.com and found the ps pump for their price which was - $248.03
so i called up santa monica acura and they have it in stock and are willing to price match

so that should knock down the total price of parts and labor to $370....!

IS THIS A GOOD DEAL? OR ?

 

When the pumps go bad, air gets in the fluid and causes the froth (tiny air bubbles). Price for the pump sounds good, and looks like $120 for labor. If you like paying for labor, that's probably not too bad for that job. But if you don't like paying for labor, pay for some tools instead and do-it-yourself.

 

well the $120 is including a ps flush and new fluid again and also one of the hoses connected to the reservoir needs to be replaced tht goes from the reservoir to the bottom of the car. main stream / tube b i think it was called or something like that. so its worth it. i guestimate its just about $80 in labor which isnt too bad. i was saving the extra cash for a UR lightweight pulley but looks like ill just have to do that later =(

 

ok back from the mechanic shop

new ps pump without core - $360 w/ CA 9.75% tax
taking core back tomorrow worth - $50 + tax
ps fluid about - $20
labor and new reservoir bypass hoses - $120
TOTAL = $500 and after i take the core back to the dealer tomorrow the total would be about $450

somehow i still feel a little ripped off!

havent noticed any leaks yet but i will be keeping an eye on it for the next week or so, and as far as the squeaky sound from what it sounded like the suspension nothing yet, but i will wait til later tonight to investigate further for the noise. i hope its gone though

 

Ouch! What happened to the $250 pump?

 

my mechanic didnt want to pick it up from santa monica which is about a 35-40 mile drive. and all the other acura dealers didnt want to price match. the best i could find was from keys acura in vannuys for 330 and that was with a 15% discountand minus the core it came out to 280. just about 30 more. i have to take the core back tomorrow for the 50 back. but what really killed it was the tax! and the fact tht i had to go pick it up myself in the end i still ended up paying $450

 

so after all is said and done i still notice a little squeaking but it is definetly reduced and not as loud or bad. now i have a few more questions? is there a break in period for the new ps pump? im still losing a little bit of fluid is this because the ps pump is new? i replaced the two hoses connected to the front of the reservoir but not the hose connected to the new ps pump but that one is definetly not leaking. where else could i be losing fluid from?

 

There's no break-in period. It may have needed to be topped-off after circulating through the system. The only other place it could leak would be at the steering rack underneath the car. The power steering pump creates hydraulic pressure via the ps fluid for the steering rack to operate. That's where the other hoses from the ps pump go.

 

My friend had the same problem and thought he needed a new power steering pump on his 2001 tlp. We found were the leak was on the pump took it apart and it turned out to be a bad o-ring. So we replaced the o-ring and problem solved.

 

when the ps pump was replaced it was topped off twice to replace the fluid that was lost when replacing the pump. now when the car was up on the lift we did notice tht underneath was very moist and it kinda looked like oil. it was by the oil filter and oil pan so we just cleaned it off, although they were not leaking at all. could that have been ps fluid instead of oil?

and what is an o-ring and where is it located? any pictures?

 

#17 & #18 are o-rings. Yes, the oil you saw underneath could be ps fluid. It could be dripping from above and running down the hose and spraying the underside, or it could be dripping from the steering rack underneath and spraying.

 

ok when you say above where exactly could that be? and if it were the steering rack does that whole thing need to get replaced? it sounds costly.... i finally noticed a small round circle puddle under my car on the pavement. it appeared to be ps fluid i touched it and it was a light brown clear color and def did not smell like engine oil. so whats the next step in finding this leak?

 

so i was calling around and found the prices for the rack and pinion and new = $800 and remanufactured = $670 with $150 core. this isnt even including labor wow! so i obviously dont want to spend this much but who would right? anyways what else could the problem be? could it be as simple as a seal around them? im hoping so but i have no clue? =(

 

Above would be the ps pump and reservoir, and the hoses that connect to them. Since you've had that replaced/repaired, next would be the steering rack. It could be where the hose connects, or the pinion valve, or where the rods come out, the boots, etc. Sorry, but someone will have to look over the whole thing. If you see a puddle, look directly above it.

 

no need to apologize jdjohn84 u have been very helpful and i appreciate it. since my mechanic has already looked underneath and noticed it moist but couldnt find a problem i guess i will taking it to my dealer on monday. they said its a free inspection for the power steering leak or problem so i guess ill have to wait and see what happens. thanks.

 

so my mechanic couldnt find the leak and im getting pretty frustrated! the leak is on the passeneger side kind of by the tow hook and oil filter and i am positive that its not engine oil. if this were the steering rack wouldnt it be closer to the drivers side? any help please???

 

ok problem solved i think!

So the re-manufactured ps pump i picked up from the acura dealer was crap! It had a worse leak then the core i had returned....

Anyways i did receive a new reman from the dealer but they refused to cover for any labor charges i had already paid for basically because i did not have it installed at their shop. so guess what? i had to pay for labor all over again! i also had that one return hose replaced that connects to the top of the ps pump which was about $130 just for that hose.

Anyways i did notice a difference when exchanging the pumps. The 1st pump had pink stickers on the corners while the new or replacement pump from acura has green stickers. wtf?!?!? shouldnt they just be one color if their rebuilds???
That seemed a little strange to me. Anyways about $800 dollars later the problem seems to be fixed!

$450 for the first install
and $350 for the 2nd time around with a new hose

i hope this one lasts! what are the chances of 2 pumps going bad in a row right? who knows? but hopefully this nightmare is over!!!

So i dont know if anyone is even following this thread anymore but thanks to all who tried to help! and thankfully it wasnt a steering rack