nist7

Just did my flush along with the whine fix with the new intake hose o-ring. Noise is basically completely gone! Giving more feedback/tips to the community.

My car is a 06 TL.

Here's all the parts I personally recommend:

(TIP: do NOT go to Acura dealer, go to honda dealer, part# is exact same, and the part is cheaper, this goes for the PSF as well. Acura had "Acura" labeled PSF that is same as Honda PSF but cose was $7/bottle instead of $4.5/bottle at the Honda dealer. Absolutely hilarious they way companies get away with this kind of thing. I went ahead and bought local from dealer since it was immediate access to parts and I would have a receipt and a real person to talk to if part is wrong or defective. Just my preference)

#2 - (53701-SDA-A01) This is the PS reservoir tank. It was about $20 from the local honda dealer. This has a non-removable screen/filter at the bottom to catch gunk and is not serviceable. When I turkey-bastering the old fluid out of my old tank, I can feel nasty grit with the tip of the baster at the bottom (like grainy sand feeling). Also old PS reservoir tanks get burnt/darkened so it was hard to tell the level due to dyscoloration. I would recommend changing this if the tank is very dark and feels/looks old.

#23 - (91370-SV4-000) This is the "upper" o-ring that some people mentioned to change. This is not known to be the culprit of the whine but some changed it anyway. It's a black o-ring and mine looked fairly pliable already but changed anyway. Two bolts come off on top, very easy to change.

#11 - (53731-SDB-A00) This is the thicker intake hose from the reservoir to the PS pump that routes the PSF from the reservoir into the pump. This is the hose you take off when you change the orange o-ring (to clarify, you do NOT take off the hose clamp, this hose stays clamped to the inlet joint which is held on by a bolt underneath but when you take off the bolt this hose and the plastic inlet joint comes off to reveal the o-ring) Mine was quite old and brittle, and deep markings from the hose clamp. As I was changing out my tank, I had to remove this and put it back on and then I noticed a small vertical crack start to form. Fortunately its not deep enough to start leaking at the joint, but I had to go out and buy another replacement hose from honda and I'll need to replace this hose again...sigh

#13 - (53733-SDA-A01) Optional. This is the return hose that routes the PSF back into the reservoir. Mine was fairly soft and still pliable so no need. But can change this if you need to.


Here is the orange O-ring you need to change:



#13 - (91345-RDA-A01) This is the orange O-ring. There's a bolt right below the inlet joint that you need to loosen. 8/10mm (forget which size) but can be a pain due to its tight location. Have to use a smaller sized wrench to get into the space.

#3 is the inlet joint that hose #11 fits into. When you take off the bolt, this inlet will be attached to the thick inlet hose and both come off. If you need to change the intake hose, like I needed to, you do NOT need to take off the bolt again to take off the inlet joint...just unclamp and replace with new hose.


TIP: This is the biggest pain that I encountered...which is finding right sized hose to connect to the return hose to dump the old PSF fluid after disconnection it from the tank.

I went to O reillys and they only had 3/8 ID generic fuel line. So I said ok whatever I'll see if I can fit it onto the return hose.....WARNING 3/8 ID generic fuel line hose does NOT FIT at all because....it's the exact same damn dimension as the return hose.

Luckily I had a random piece of smaller hose (not sure which diameter) that took me 20min to jam in there inside the return hose.

So after some search, and seeing I need to flush it again to replace the intake hose, I went to local hardware store and bought a 5/8 ID generic hose for like $3. Get maybe 4-5ft. This hose will fit perfectly and fairly snugly (without huge PITA effort) OVER the return hose for much easier flushing of the old fluid.

Also, since i had to replace the tank and I was only one person and wanted to flush the system, I essentially hooked up the new tank to the intake, have the return hose drain to a empty bottle, put in PSF into the tank, start car (have it jacked up so the wheels are NOT touching ground, much easier), and then you will hear/see the PS pump sucking the fluid and pushing it through and then coming out of your return hose into the waste catch bottle. Only takes a couple end to end cycles to push all the fluid through.

But you will start to hear VERY LOUD PS whine...do not be alarmed. Another poster has had this same issue. Keep car on. Do not turn steering. GO back and put in more PSF (how much is up to you, I flushed through about 3 bottles) and flush it out until the color of the outlet fluid seems ok. (not as brown/dark)

Turn off car. Reconnect the return hose to new tank. Put in new PSF, turn on car, and turn the steering end to end to basically let the system fill and also this will bleed some air out as well and then just fill up to the max level.

There will be some bubbles in the tank and this is normal since the PS pump essentially ate HUGE amounts of air (aka running dry) for a while there. Which again is NORMAL since the Honda service manual essentially lists the same procedure. There is another thread where soemone was very concerned about following OEM service procedure which essentially tells you to run the pump dry for a short while. Again, consensus reached was that this is part of normal operation, and you are not putting stress on the steering too much (wheels jacked up) and this is very very short time period (30-60sec MAX "running dry" compared to thousands of hours you actually drive with the PSF in...and lot of people have old/bubbly PSF in their car driving around daily....)

After a day or two of driving the fluid should look perfectly with no bubbling.

Hope this post contributes to those who are looking for PSF pump flush advice.

I would highly recommend doing all the parts I listed above because:
1 - Replaces 2 O-rings that is more easily accessible and reachable (aside from actually pulling pump and rebuilding all the seals/hoses in there) and known culprit for possible air leak/whine

2 - Replaces the reservoir tank (which has dirt/crap at the bottom that as far as I know CANNOT be cleaned out) Mine was OEM and not changed and it was 7/8 year old car, so maybe think think about changing this maybe at the 6-8 year mark. The part is cheap.

3 - Replaces the two easily accessible hoses (intake and return) that can cause cracking/air leak.

4 - And flushes the system clean of old fluid/funk in the lines.

All in 1 go which hopefully will solve most PS issues/whines!

koko_head

nist7,

Great post. Thank you very much.

As to the earlier posters in the thread, do you guys have any long term results from using Red Line's High Temp ATF in the power steering system?

Thank you.

Also, as to the recall/TSB on the power steering issues, are owners still able to make a claim for their cars?

NetGnome

With the engine running it is easy to make a mess with the power steering fluid.
If you raise the wheels off the ground and turn the steering left and right you can pump out the fluid more slowly with the engine off.

I hate cars

Very good advice. I highly recommend not running the pump dry when this way works just as well and won't cause excessive wear on the pump.

I hate cars

I think most will say you're crazy for considering it lol. I think there are only two of us running it. We've both been on it about 2.5 years. It works great and no leaks. It definitely quieted the normal system noise down over the OEM fluid and it's cheaper than the Honda fluid even though it's mostly an ester base stock. Longer fluid life should be a given.

koko_head

I've done some crazy things in my other cars. I've had nothing but great results with Red Line products (except their MTL in my NSX's transmission).

Red Line's CYA stance has always been "we do not make a PSF for Hondas/Acuras."

I'll give it a try.

koko_head

As a quick follow-up, have any of you (2) High Temp ATF users tried using it in any other Honda P/S units?

MonkeyTrucker

I did the same to replace my whine, didn't change the reservoir. Less than a year later it was apparent the other o-rings were just as deteriorated. I'd plan on doing reman if your a DIYer.

I compiled a complete DIY from several posts within two threads linked below for the reman, flush, and refill...down to torque specifications within the steps.

Just wanted to post the info here for returned search results and for those that want to take it a step further. None of the rubber within my PS Pump was pliable any longer; 2006 TL.

PS Reman DIY - All Rubber Replaced, Flushed, Refill, Serpentine Belt Placement, and Volumes for Fluid
Credits furnished within as well as added input. It was just a personal spreadheet within a workbook I maintain for maintenance and to better prepare for the task. Decided to share.

koko_head

Red Line did reply to my inquiry and said that "if the viscosity does work out, our concern then turns to fluid-to-seal compatibility"

I hate cars

That was exactly my initial concern, so far so good, not a single drop or even a damp spot.

madrussian190

Does anyone still have the pictures? image shack is no go.

Afdeng5

What are the actual savings when you do it yourself vs. paying. Well worth it?

nist7

Probably save at least $100-200 due to labor costs.

Also you get to know your car better. I'll tell you my story for this. I was only going to do O-ring...but saw that my PSF was real gunky along with a very old and gunky looking reservoir...and I discovered a small crack by the clamped area on the upper intake hose where the pump and the reservoir is connected.

So Went to Honda dealer (cause the parts are the same and a H badge is cheaper than a A badge) and got a new reservoir tank, new upper hose and I replaced the PSF along with nice new clean reservoir and new upper hose....now it should last for good amount of time.

With dealer, they likely will just do the PSF...you may still get stuck with a very dirty reservoir tank (it has a non-serviceable screen filter at the bottom where all kinds of crap collects after years, probably could do with replacement every 6-8 years depending on condition) and they may not have noticed the small crack forming on my hose.

So not only did I save money, I learned more about my car and did work on myself that gave me even more experience/confidence moving forward and the parts will last longer since I will look more carefully at my own car than some hourly paid lowly mechanic who will just have a job to finish and get through their day.

KCee

I generally have a buddy of mine or the dealership work on my car, but I siphoned out the power steering fluid and changed the O-rings myself....yes that's how easy it is. The annoying whine stopped almost immediately.


Really the pain was just turning the wheel back and forth to get as much fluid out as I could and then trying not to let the fluid spill. Probably just my imagination, but I swear the steering wheel turns easier now too.

Sparky16

I know this is an old thread, but have a question, please help.


"Nist7" above stated "all part numbers for Honda & Acura are the same and they're identical parts", But when I tried to order online, those illustration for the PS reservoir & hoses look slightly different, hoses may not fit right. I think it's gimmick designed to discourage us from buying cheaper Honda parts for use on Acura, but not 100% sure.


Someone please clarify this, very much appreciated.

94eg!

If Honda carries the same part# found in your Acura parts diagram, then it will be an identical part. Of this I am sure. The drawings in the parts diagram are not always exact for a given part. As long as the part number matches the Acura part, it will be exactly the same.

If you order an Acura part number from a Honda dealer (and they tell you they can get it), then you are safe.

Sparky16

Thanks!
Ordered Honda PS reservoir & hoses. Honda parts shows different drawings from Acura parts, but they came identical as Acura parts, saved a few dollars for ordering from online Honda dealer.

tbirdman

Just did this today, along with the o-ring replacement and a new power steering reservoir. A big thanks to the original poster, libert69, and especially to the follow up poster nist7, for their detailed instructions on how to do this. Everything went pretty well. The only hiccup was changing out the o-ring on the front fitting of the power steering pump. It was a pain in the butt trying to get the bolt to thread back in under the fitting. Not much room to work in there, and I have somewhat small hands. If you're thinking of changing out the serpentine belt, doing it at the same time as doing the power steering stuff is a good idea. Changing the serpentine belt without the power steering reservoir in place would be much easier, and vice versa, changing out the o-rings without the serpentine belt in place would have been much easier. Then you wouldn't have to worry about getting PS fluid on the belt. Oh well.

One thing I did that made doing the flush easier that I wanted to pass along to anyone else thinking about doing this; after reading many posts here and elsewhere about what size tubing to get to fit around the PS inlet tube to drain the fluid, I purchased a 3/8 barb fitting at Lowe's along with a 6' section of 3/8" inside diameter clear hose and a small hose clamp. I inserted one end of the clear hose on one side of the barb fitting and secured it with the hose clamp, and inserted the other end of the barb fitting in the PS inlet hose (which is very close to, if not 3/8" inside diameter hose as well) after removing it from the reservoir. After securing the factory hose clamp, started the car and drained the fluid. No leaks whatsoever.

Pride96

Majofo

I don't recommend anyone use anything other than Honda PSF. Not even fluid that says it's compatible unless it's temporary / just before a drain and fill to top off. A complete drain and fill and regular res fluid replacement every oil change could serve you well for the life of the car.

Pair of TLs

I use Honda PSF only and have only had to replace the PS pump once in all my TLs (PS hose replace bulletin, so good time for a slightly leaky pump) but I've never taken one to the end of its life...

Blayde

I have had my Acura tl for about a year now and about 4 months ago it started making the whining noise I have replaced the steering pump 2 times now in the past month because I thought one was a faulty and after I put the new one back in I found out that wasn’t the problem I have replaced the o rings with oem ones and flushed the whole system and it’s still making the noise and idk why. Does anyone have a fix for this?

Tyrone503

Ive had my car whine like a supercharger before and it turned out to be the drive belt tensioner.

Blayde

did you replace the o rings and everything like I did as well because I am scared it’s my rack so i would just like to know if the belt tensioner is really the thing that can cause this.

Tyrone503

I've replaced both o rings multiple times. eventualy got tired of it and just rebuilt the entire pump.

Blayde

Well, ever since I replaced everything and put Lucas steering pump fluid repair it has been quieter, but it randomly gets louder at times