Greetings!

I have a '92 Honda Accord...I recently replaced the alternator and battery...in order to access and replace the alternator, I had to remove the cruise control actuator as well as drain the power steering fluid and remove the ps pump......

now, after finishing this repair, I proceeded to replace the power steering fluid, but it only took about a third of the fluid that it should have, so I assume that it didn't completely drain initially...I did however drain the fluid until it was just at a slow drip, moving the wheel from lock to lock, so I'm not sure what happened there...???

anyhow...now, when I drive my accord, I hear a groan when it's cold, which I understand may be a bad ps pump inlet joint o-ring...but, I also have a bigger problem with the steering itself! it will go from soft to hard! making a 90 degree turn, it may turn easily, and then suddenly "stiffen-up" so that it's nearly impossible to turn, and then back to "easy"...it may also jerk or pull during a turn...

do I have an air pocket or obstruction somewhere??? any ideas???

thanks in advance for your help!

 

Is the fluid foaming up in the reservoir?

Lift & support the front of the car (so the PS doesn't have to work very hard).
Start the engine - turn steering back & forth - turn off the engine.
Wait for the foam to settle.

Repeat a few times & eventually there will be less & less foam. At the same time you'll probably have to add more fluid.

This would be better in the General Tech section, so I'll move it.

 

you nailed it...it is foaming-up! I will try your fix right away! could you explain to me what happened???

 

if o-ring is leaking, ( pressure hose ) , top of pump, system is sucking air making the p/s fluid foam up,, thus could explain the problem that you are having,, ,,,,,,,,fix the leak before anything else

 

It doesn't need to be a leak, especially if it wasn't leaking before. I've seen that foaming when I changed PS fluid (by drain/fill of the system). Seemed like it took a long time before all the foaming quit.

When you refill it, there's enough air hanging out in the system to make the foam. The very ends of the hydraulic cylinders (inside the rack) hold some air, that's why you need to spin the steering all the way lock-to-lock a few times. Other than that, the system is self-purging - there's no specific bleed valve like you have for the cooling system.

Better to leave the PS full, and just unbolt the pump & move it by flexing the hoses. Easy for ME to say, right?

OTOH, now you have the system filled with fresh PS fluid. That's a good thing. Did you use genuine Honda fluid? None of the "universal" fluids are any good for Honda.

 

I appreciate all of your advice! I am just waiting for a day when the temp and wind chill isn't rediculous so that I can tinker with it! ha Even though I'm not a mechanic, I AM a machine tool maker/machinist/welder by trade, so I should be able to get the job done now that I have this advice from you!

 

On occasion, my 95 Accord LX 157,000 miles wont start. Its not the
battery as it cranks but never actually starts. If I wait about 30 minutes
it will start. It seems like this happens only when I havent driven the
car for a couple of days. Any ideas?

Nancy

 

You should start a new post, since your problem has nothing to do with the original poster's issue.