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Hello everyone! I own a 1993 Honda Accord SE 2.2L 4Cyl Engine with roughly 225,000 miles on it that has a power steering leak coming from the boot, particularly the passenger side. It has been doing this for a few months now but it’s winter so I couldn’t do anything about it, but today I went out to take a closer look at it. I got under the car (with jack stands in place of course) and found PS fluid all over the passenger boot. When I squeezed it I could hear air escaping from it and then some PS fluid came dripping out. I removed the wheel and found a tiny hole in the top of the boot. I just replaced this whole power steering rack and pinion about 6 months ago with a new one (remanufactured) and it was a PITA to do because I had to drop the exhaust manifold instead of trying to remove the overly rusted exhaust spring bolts. I also replaced the high pressure line for it with a new one as well and bled out all of the old PS fluid. I know it is usually an issue with the seals failing and then the PS fluid gets into the boot and that’s what causes the tear/hole in the boot. The boots themselves are just there to protect the rack, nothing more. The only other thing worth mentioning is that even as little as a week or so after installing the new rack there was still fluid seeping out of the boot right where the clamps are, but this would only happen if I turned the steering wheel all the way to one end or the other. I did not use a generic brand of PS fluid, I went straight to NAPA and purchased some fluid that said it was designed for Honda’s. Can someone help shed some light on why my PS rack started to leak despite being new? Thanks!
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You think so? It certainly sounds about right (tho I didn’t want to think about it) as this issue has existed pretty much since day 1. Even after installing it I still had to keep putting PS fluid in it from time to time because it kept running low, but at the time it was only if I drove the car anywhere; no doubt because turning the wheel was having a minor effect on the PS loss.
Would not getting an alignment have anything to do with it? I only drive about 2,200 miles a year so I didn’t think one was necessary. Not really gonna wear my tires down with that little bit of driving.
The new rack wasn’t expensive, only $120 plus an $80 core charge = $200 so maybe it just wasn’t all that durable to begin with? Or maybe the auto parts store banged it up before they shipped it? The box itself was sketchy at best when I got it, like they couldn’t have found a box big enough for it so they just tried to cram it into one that barely fit. Trying to find a picture of it I had taken but may have already deleted it from my computer. But the box itself was ripped and in poor shape when it arrived on my doorstep. Had to wrap a bunch of duct tape around the ripped part of it when I sent it back for a core return. Wasn’t thrilled about that, but also might not mean anything at all.
P.S. Went back to my first post and input my car’s mileage on it. Don’t have the exact number and too lazy to go out and look but its still close enough in my opinion.
If it’s a Cardone branded rebuild I wouldn’t be surprised. They have horrible quality control.
Yes sir you are right. It is a Cardone brand. Here’s a link to the one that I bought: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/sku/Honda/Accord/A1_Cardone/Steering_Rack/1993/SE/4_Cyl_2-dot-2L/A1261761.html
Pricing is different now but this is definitely it. Found it by its part number.
Just called up the place for my steering rack and requested a new one. It’s covered under a 3 year warranty. When it comes in I’ll install it and if this happens again then I’ll request a refund and go with a more quality rack. Or maybe just go with a manual rack. Don’t know yet. Will keep posted. Thanks everyone for your responses!
[quote=”xavier_sb” post=161047]Just called up the place for my steering rack and requested a new one. It’s covered under a 3 year warranty. When it comes in I’ll install it and if this happens again then I’ll request a refund and go with a more quality rack. Or maybe just go with a manual rack. Don’t know yet. Will keep posted. Thanks everyone for your responses![/quote]
Keep us posted on your progress. 🙂
(Sigh) So I’ve decided not to bother with replacing the steering rack. I know that I should but it’s suddenly become way too much work for far too little reward. The reason why I’ve opted to not do this repair anymore is very simple: as much as I like this car and although it has sentimental value to me, it’s starting to “nickle and dime me to death.” I’ve recently learned that my rear brakes don’t work and haven’t for some time (needs new everything back there) but I can’t get the calipers off to fix them because the slide pins are so rusted in place. Also the left rear pinch well has started to buckle whenever I try to lift the car up from that point and it was going to end up inside the cab if I kept going. There’s a plethora of other issues with this vehicle that I won’t go into, but if I can’t get my rear brakes fixed for a decent price then there’s no point in replacing the rack. It would be a waste of time to do the work only to part with the car 1 year later, if that. And I don’t drive enough for it to matter anyway. So this is where this story ends. I’m going to be looking for a new car very shortly because as of this moment I cannot even drive this vehicle because both rear brakes are grinding against my rusted rotors and the sound is VERY audible. Thanks everyone for your help!
P.S. Took a couple pictures to give you an idea of the shape of my car and why I’m making this decision.
Just wanted to give an update: I ended up doing this repair after all. The rack was covered under warranty so I decided to take advantage of that and replace it. Wasn’t any more fun the second time around. Seems to be holding steady with no leaks so far but will be keeping an eye on my fluid levels either way. Thanks everyone for your input! 🙂 It’s very disconcerting to think that sometimes new parts can be bad right out of the gate and lead repairs to be failures before you’ve even begun them (shudders).
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