I recently finished changing out my power steering rack and various other things including my oil pan gasket, which involved me completely removing the oil pan for a number of days. To do this, I had to drop the exhaust manifold by unbolting it from the block. Then I finished everything and hooked it all back up.

I added fresh oil and power steering fluid and checked all the other fluids just to be safe. Good brake fluid levels and good transmission fluid levels (and it looked clean).

Question # 1
When I attempted to start the car, it took a long time. It seemed to be struggling to get things moving. I assume from not having any oil for so long (at least I hope that was what it was from).

When I finally got it running, it puttered for about 30 seconds and I had to press the gas until it steadied out.

Once it was on and running smooth, I noticed that there was smoke coming from the manifold area. But it didn't smell like exhaust. It smelled like burning oil, like after you do an oil change and some lands on the engine. But I know for a fact that that did not happen. It was clean and mess free.
This was a steady stream of smoke. And it all seemed to be coming from the manifold area. I could see exactly where because the heat shield was in the way, but tomorrow before I start running tests, I'll remove it and watch.

Did I not attach the manifold tight enough and exhaust was leaking out? Well that doesn't seem right because like I said earlier, it smelled like burning oil and not exhaust.

Question # 2
There is a clamp on the low pressure line coming out of the power steering rack, about 3 inches out. It connects the hard (either plastic or metal) line to the hose. The clamp is wrapped around the hose.

At first, the clamp was apparently so loose that nearly all of the new PS fluid that I had put in ran back out the first few times I turned the wheel. But then I got under the car and tightened up the clamp.

When I filled it back up and tried again, this time it was just a slow drip. Slow, but enough to see small puddle building up, although I didn't see the level in the reservoir going down like the first time.

I turned the wheels multiple times, while the car was running, the get the lines full and steady. It was only then that I began to see the drip.

I've gotten the clamp nearly as tight as I can get it, although it could still take a few more turns (It's one of those clamps that tightens with a screw).

Any suggestions?

Thanks for reading all of this.

 

A very little bit of oil/grease can create a lot of smoke. Keep a close eye on this. I would think that the residual oil should burn off.

If the car keeps having problems starting/running, then I would be concerned.

See if you can get a socket on the hex head of the clamp. That can help getting a hose clamp tightened properly. Also, clean up any PS fluid to see if the leak could be coming from somewhere above that clamp as well.

Check your fluid levels that you changed to make sure you are not running the car low on oil or PS fluid.

 

UPDATE

Smoke:
The next morning, I took off the head sheild cover (that most hondas have covering the exhaust manifold), loosened the manifold and tried to adjust the gasket up some. It didn't seem like it moved. But when I started car and let it run for a while, there was only the tiniest bit of smoke. But now that the shield was off, I could see. It did, indeed, look like oil burn-off from some residual that was on the engine (not from adding oil but from before the car was mine that I didn't clean off).

Power Steering:
After a few tests (involving strategically placed blue paper towel pieces) I concluded that, while the initial (massive) loss and drain of power steering fluid was probably caused by the clamp, the drip was actually coming from somewhere else.

I did tighten the clamp as tight as it would go and that seemed to seal that leak. But once that was fixed, and after the tests mentioned above, I found that the drip was actually coming from the connection of the high pressure line.

Solution:
I unscrewed the high pressure line and added a small amount of teflon tape. I figured, that it worked for plumbing, maybe it will work for the car.

Result:
It seemed to be working with the initial tests in the driveway. I drove the car around for about 10 minutes then came back. There was a small bead of fluid that looked like it was about to drip off but it didn't. And I didn't see any further dripping. But I'm going to keep an eye on it and check the fluids regularly for a while as well continue to check for dripping.

My wife is driving it to work today so we can get a feel of how interstate travel will treat it.

 

Thanks for posting the update and keep us posted.

 

Brandon, how is the power steering hose holding up? I may have to tack some seepage in the return line on our car ... just wondering if your teflon fix did the trick.

Thanks. John

 

Yes. that worked. But it was a pain in the butt to get on.