I brought my Acura TL 2005 in to the Honda dealer for an oil change and they showed me my Rack and pinion boots leaking on both sides. I was surprised. 106,000kms. Is this normal? Is there any guarantee for this, they want 1600$ plus labour to fix it. Any ideas?

 

call acura client services, and see if they can do anything for you ... if they cover partially the cost of repair i would jump on it ... or try to go with a private mechanic that you trust, it will probably be cheaper.

 

When I got my car, the exact same thing happened. My car was at 79500k so about 127, 942 km. I took my car to the dealership I got it from and they said they would take care if it. A week later I get my car back and now I have a completely new rack and pinion!

 

hahahaa no worries guys it is "normal" ive been through 8 racks 3 pumps and a lot, I mean A LOT of yelling with these idiots. but def call client services they are very nice most of the time and wouldnt argue the issues...... make sure u bring up that on the over 1000 member acurazine site a lot of people have issues pertaining to the racks. AND MAKE SURE!!!! they replace all the hoses that are rubber and rack and pump because of contamination from all thr prior shit in there (it sticks to the rubber) if they dont want to or make up some crap that u dont "need" to THEY NEED TO!!!dont let them tell u otherwise. make sure u mention that to client services because like i said before 8 racks....in my case.

 

hey trip-
any way its related to spinning the ps pump at a different speed with the crank pulley- and Im guessing your rpm is often near the red?

We blow out alternators on the ~showroom stock~ roadrace car is why I ask

 

changing the ps fluid is suggested at 60k miles iirc and the known issue of weak seals inside the rack, then the outer boot gets oil soaked and eaten away,,fluid goes out, rack bearings and seals damaged
replace rack!

 

I think that's the exact failure sequence.

To the OP, as you can see, it's not normal but not that abnormal either.

The factory interval for fluid replacement is too long. Do a drain and refill of the reservior every other oil change and it should last longer.

Trip- That sucks. Looks like they just kept replacing racks instead of cleaning all the crap out of the system. Making the same mistake once or twice, maybe, but you've got to wonder about those guys' IQ level doing it that many times. I feel for you.

 

if the dealer wont do it Pm me. I know a guy who will do it for 600-700 $ " refurbished ". assuming the part cost arround 300 $

 

3 pumps & 8 racks.. that's ridiculous.

 

how do you flush the power steering fluid

 

It's in the 3G garage.. basically swap the return pipe and put it into a jar, then have someone turn the car on and turn the wheel lock to lock until it stops draining, then turn the car off and refill the res & return the line, top off as needed. If it's as bad as mine was I'd do it twice just to clean that crap out.

 

bro i have had so many probs i wanna snap at times....these shit brick acura mechanics are a joke.... it can be from the ps pump it can be the rack it can be this it can be that! they could barely figure out what i owe them monthly!! lol.
I just got allllll new pump, rack, rubber hoses, catch can to further cool the junk oil they use.... i also had a great oppurtunity to get the power steering cooler from an E55 so i cut some pipes connected some stuff up to either cool it and relieve some high pressure on the return or just to keep it cooler than what its running at currently. like 450000000 degrees, at this point i wanna go nuts. the "engineer adjuster" dude who comes from acura tries to blame it on the way i drive it.... im like dude u gotta be kidding me if i cant drive it any other way but straight.....you can take your car back and wait for my lawyer to get me a full refund. they dont have any issues after they hear other people are about to get involved with legal action

 

wasn't there a power steering recall?

 

If it wasn't a potential legal issue I would suggest Amsoil synthetic PSF. I've used it with good results and it will stand up to the heat very well.

I wonder if something is blocking the factory "cooler".

 

for the hose n O-ring that connects the recalled hose to the pump

 

hate i took apart all the broken components so far, all the metal lines n cooler are clear. the rubber lines have goop in em built up around the walls. and i will try that amsoil...thank u much for that....i didnt know we had something of quality to replace that junk honda uses.

 

I just got a call from my dealer. My 04 is there for its 105k service and noisy power steering. The guy tells me the car needs a new PS pump and rack for over $2000. WTF?!

 

tel him to goodwill it through acura.....the power steering a very well known breaking issue with these cars. PLUS theres a recall on the pump n hose n rack if any of them have been effected by one or the other.

 

IHC,

Thank you VERY MUCH for this tip.

I have been searching on Google for the past few days. I have been looking for a Honda PSF substitute. All I found during my searching is the usual "can't and never could" type of thinking.... doom-and-gloom if a person dared to use anything but Honda PSF.

Your positive experience with it is all I need. I plan to purchase a case (12) from the Amsoil website. THANKS !!!

 

Sounds like an upsell.. have you noticed harsh steering or just a morning / cold temp whine when you first start the car?

 

Yeah.. I'm picking up some Amsoil Syn PSF too..

 

I wanted to get some miles with it to make sure the claims were correct. So far, 35,000 miles and no issues. You'll notice a difference on cold winter starts. The steering is noticeable lighter when cold.

 

IHC,

Do you know if the Amsoil Fluid Extraction Pump is good ? I am thinking about ordering the pump too to extract the old PSF from the reservoir. Thanks

 

It works good but a turkey baster works just as well for PSF. Just be careful, when the turkey baster was found in the garage with oil in it, and my life flashed before my eyes, you realize that sometimes saving a few bucks isn't worth it.

 

Don't waste your money. Just do the suggested feed pipe drain by letting it drain itself out utilizing the pump (car on).

 

 

I got a call back this morning from the dealer. They contacted the regional rep and offered to split the cost with me. So, instead of 2097, they want 1050. I told them to go ahead with it, since they have me by the short-n-curlies anyway. I still want to pursue it with Acura (corporate) as I see no reason a steering system should fail after only 105k miles on a 'near-luxury' car.

I did have the PS recall service performed back when it came out, BTW, but I don't remember when that was.

Do you guys have a contact at Acura I should try?

 

The latter, though, it often continued all the way to work (55 minutes and 33 miles). It was the whine that got louder when steering and it also sounded like bubbly fluid being forced through a small opening.

The service rep knew right away about the service bulletin for the O-ring and they were going to take care of that at no additional charge when doing my 105k service. However, they 'found' that the rack and pump were "destroyed" and needed to be replaced.

I've never had reason to distrust this shop (unlike other shops I used to use), but I'm a little concerned about this situation.

 

IHC,

Santa in his brown slay made my delivery. Thanks for tip of using Amsoil PSF !

 

^ Mother F.. You lucky guy. Let us know how it runs. I plan on doing the change in a week or two.

 

LOL. I showed my girlfriend the picture so she would realize I'm not the only one..... It didn't work.

But that's very nice, make sure to report back any changes if you notice any.

When I got my first delivery of Amsoil motor oil and ATF in gallon containers and tucked them in on her side of bed she wasn't amused. When I asked her to sleep on the couch so the Amsoil could stay she beat me.

 

IHC & Majofo,

Thanks for the humorous replies. Enjoyed both.

 

If their fluid is crap why not use a better fluid or trans fluid?

 

The Honda/Acura PSF is a "secret formula". There are reported cases of the seals being harmed by using PSF not designed specifically for the Honda/Acura. Therefore, plain old ATF is, for sure, not an option.

There are only two other sources (other than Honda) for compatible PSF that I have found. One option is the generic "Coastal PSF For Hondas", found at every auto parts store. If it was a choice between genuine Honda or Coastal, I would use the genuine Honda.

The other option, thanks to IHC, is the Amsoil ATF.

BTW, the Honda PSF is not really consider to be low quality (aka, crap). The only real problem is that Honda/Acura recommends too long of a service interval for the PSF. According to many opinions (me too), the PSF should be changed more often than Honda/Acura recommends.

And as per my motto, "anything worth doing, is worth over-doing". So, I will take the Amsoil please.

 

Was there ever a recall on the rack n pinion steering or just the O ring? Hearing whining noises and steering is a bit difficult in turns. Taking car to dealer Wednesday and I want to be ready with my info before hand.

 

well its the hose and o-ring.....but because of it the other parts of the system were failing....and the o-ring was the biggest problem. the hose was a piece of junk so they made new ones because the old ones cracked. the ring they made thicker

 

what year has the recall i ahe a 2005 AT and mi rack is leaking ??? what to do

 

I have an 04 I'll have to keep an eye on this.