Does any one know why my 1989 honda accord would be leaking power steering fluid on the passenger side of the engine bay? When I had the front end up I turned the wheels manually(without the car running)and it started leaking fluid. I filled it with "regular" power steering fluid and NOT the Honda type. Could that be the reason? Could it just be a bad seal on the rack? Does the hose from the pump go to the passenger side of the car? Any advise or help would be appreciated. Thank-you

 

Really sounds like the rack. There are two other places it could be coming from but if you turned the wheels and it came from the boot on the rack....found.
If you put reg fluid in before the leak,,,yes that could be why it is leaking now.

If the fluid didn't come from the rack boot let me know and I can give you the other two things to look at.

 

Thanks for the reply poorman212. My mechanic will be looking at it first thing tomorrow so I will know more than. If it is coming from the rack is it an easy fix? The only reason I ask is that I have put alot of money into this car already and I only paid $200.00 for it. I know that paying that little for a car I'm bound to find things here an there that are going to be no good and will have to be fixed. It only has 153,000 miles on it and it runs great. Do you think it would be worth fixing if it was yours? Thanks again for your response. By the way does it really matter if you use Honda power steering fluid or regular? I thought when I did a search that I read that the honda fluid actually "bloats" the seals and that helps everything seal up.

 

If it's leaking from the big bellows on the rack, then the REAL problem is the seals in the hydraulic cylinder inside the rack. The big bellows is only supposed to have air inside. So it's leaked enough to partly fill the air-space in the bellows & then leaks OUT.

Yeah, it seems reasonable to blame the leaking on using non-Honda fluid. I've also heard that the difference is the level of additives that makes rubber parts swell up & seal tightly.

 

Jim is correct, I was not totally clear. If it is leaking out, more than a little drop or two, from the rack boot the only real fix is a new rack and pinion,,,and you might as well get new outer tie rods. But then you never did confirm it is coming from the rack&pinion boot????

As far as the fluid, trust me do not use anything but fluid that is made for Honda/Acura cars/trucks. Not sure of the chemical differences but a friend didn't listen to me once....guess what, it blew the seal on the rack.

If it was mine, or one of mine (have three 3rd gen's)-yes I would replace the rack and outer ties rods. Of course I have a little more history with mine so I know what has been done when,,,,oil changes, trans drain and fill on both the auto and manual trans, t-belt and water pump, tune ups, ect.

 

I used Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak in my 93 couple of years ago. Seems like it did the trick, I haven't added fluid since. Tech guy said the product is compatible with Honda when I called.

 

my '91 had leaking ps fluid and a mechanic told me I needed a new rack. I was ready to go for it but took a closer look myself. It turned out to be a bad clamp on the ps line below the headlight, behind the grill, next to the radiator, a real bi__tch to get at. I ended up pulling the bumper to make it easy and replaced both small hoses and clamps. A bit time consuming but no more leaks and it only cost a couple of bucks for a foot of hose and 4 clamps. I hope you get that lucky.
Cheers,
Dan

 

Thanks alot guys for getting back to me. My mechanic put it up on the lift and he did say that I was leaking from the rack but he didn't specifically say exactly where it was coming from other than on the passenger side of the car. I think I'm going to try what Maachan513 said with the Lucas. I will keep the car but right now I just can't afford to have a new rack put in so if I can get buy for a while with the Lucas that would be great.

Jim, when you say that it is probably leaking from the seals inside the rack can those be replaced without getting a new Rack?

Also my mechanic put Tranny fluid in the power steering. Should I suck it all out and replace it with the Honda certified stuff. Before you say anything about my mechanic not doing the right thing he has been my mechanic for 20 years and he is the only one I trust working on my Mustang. He actually does this out of his home but honestly he never had the slightest idea that it mattered what kind of power steering fluid went in a Honda. Thanks alot again for all your guys help!!

 

I would suck out all of fluid in the reservoir and put in Lucas and Honda compatible PS fluid. I really don't know what ratio you should use. Lucas stuff was kinda thick stuff if I remember.

Good luck

 

As far as the seals in the rack, you are better off buying a reman rack than having someone tear apart the rack and replace the seals,,,,,the labor and tools needed to rebuild the rack, paying someone, is not worth it......You'd have to remove the rack to do this, so that labor cost is fixed. The cost of the rebuild of the rack, if they can even do it, would be more that what you can buy one for....

If this "guy" helps you out/works with you, see what he charges "just for labor", then search around for the cost of a reman rack&pinion=see what that will run

As far as the Lucas, if it is a small leak then yes it might buy you some time. How much or how often are you having to fill it???

Depending on how much reg fluid was added.....question above-if a full refill was done then- Yes, get the reg fluid out of there as soon as you can. You can suck it out-turkey baster-battery filler bulb-ect can work or the res can be removed pretty easy, two hoses and pull up and it comes right out. All of this depends on how much reg fluid was added and how much leaks out.