Ok guys & gals, I am very well aware that this is an Accord forum. However there are very, very knowledgeable people here that give great advice. Perhaps my question could apply to the Accord, as well. I have found a '94 Civic DX automatic hatchback for sale that I am considering for my son's first car. It seems to be in great shape, w/ 211k miles, but it looks like it has a leaking tie rod dust seal on the passenger side. Is this hard/expensive to replace? Is it even detrimental to the driveablity/safety of the car? Asking price is $2794, I figure I could get it for around $2200....

Thanks for any advice given!
John

 

Is there any fluid leaking from the seal? If there is fluid, then that would indicate a problem with the steering rack.

The boot isn't too bad to replace. You have to remove the outer tie-rod end and swap out the boot. Mark where the nuts are at, so you don't need an alignment.

 

Yeah, looks like some sort of grease/fluid oozing from the boot. "Problem w/ the rack" sounds expensive. Something I should avoid??

Drivers side boot looks ok, BTW.

Thanks, PA

 

A rebuilt steering rack isn't terribly expensive. You may be able to get the price knocked down quite a bit if you want to replace it.

Whenever buying a high mileage vehicle, you should take it to a shop that specializes in hondas and have them do an inspection. It would be worth the investment for problems that may occur down the road.

 

if p/s rack is leaking and a shop does the job it would cost around 500 dollars or more ...

94 civic DX 211k , $2000 way too much money , DX is the cheaper of the models, just so you know the 94 DX HB in GOOD condition is only worth about 1600-1700 dollars ,
also as it was advised before buying a used car , spend the extra 50-75 dollars and have it checked out by a Honda shop ,, trust me it will be the best 50-75 that you will ever spend ,, it could save you thousands

 

Just a bit more explanation in case it's not clear...
There's only supposed to be air inside that boot. So if it's leaking fluid, it's the hydraulic seals inside the rack, that's letting fluid get into the air space to begin with. So replacing that outer boot isn't going to fix the real problem.

 

Just to make sure we are talking about the same thing, Bigdawg you describe the problem as a "leaking tie rod dust seal". Is it the tie rod attached to the wheel hub or the large boot attached to the inner rod going into the steering rack. If it is just the tie rod ball joint it is a fairly cheap fix ($30 maybe if you do it yourself) but will prob. need an alignment. The inner boot could be cheap to fix too (if you just need to replace the boot) but may lead to bigger problems with the rack if it has been ripped for a while.

 

Good question Mike...
What's leaking, #15 or #18?

 

#14 is leaking....looks like grease oozing from it...not PS fluid...too thick.....

 

So you are saying that because it it fluid leaking, that part #21 needs to be replaced? Sounds like I need to stay away from this car.

Desert, yeah, I agree the price is high, but those early to mid nineties Civics and Accords always sell quickly, at least they do up here in my neck of the woods. Trust me, I'd love to find one for around $1200 or so...would buy one for myself to save on gas instead of driving my Silverado. But they just aren't there. Well, I take that back...they can be found, but some kid has pretended he was a star in "The fast and the furious" in it and rice-r-ized it.

Here is the link to the car, FWIW:

http://www.autopages.com/dealer/inde...ar&id=DJ4_5475