Hi,

I am new here and need to replace the power steering rack on my 88 accord. I could not find a DIY for this task. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Eric

 

There's some stickies as to where you can locate a manual or you can buy a Haynes one for around $15. I replaced the rack on our 92 Civic, although time consuming it was pretty straightforward. It went on much quicker than it came off. You will need to flush the power steering system to remove all debris or your new rack will not last. You may also want to replace the outer tie rods seeing you're right there, may as well only mess up the alignment once. The tie rods are pretty cheap, at least if it's a similar setup to the Civic. Did you find a place to buy them from? I got the Civic one from a guy on E-bay who rebuilds them. It was just over $100, it's been in the car for almost 2 years with no issues. It looks like Accords are a bit more but he's still on there. His store is "therackdoctor", the guy was great to work with and if he doesn't have one for your car he can probably get one. Good luck.

 

Yes, I found a rebuilt on on ebay for around $100 w/ shipping. What is the best way to flush the system before installing the new rack? Thanks for the info.

Eric

 

My rack came with instructions. If I recall correctly, I cleaned as much as I could by hand as in the reservior etc. I then ran a couple quarts of cheapo p/s fluid through the system with the input to the rack disconnected, done by starting the engine while someone is filling the reservior. This cleans the debris out of the pressure side. I then connected the hose to the rack but unplugged the return at the pump and ran a couple more quarts through to clean out the return. Next I ran it dry enough to get most of the cheapo stuff out. Lastly I ran a couple quarts of the expensive Honda fluid through it to get the rest of the cheapo stuff out. You want the Honda fluid or the seals won't last. Most will not warranty the rebuilt rack unless Honda fluid is used.

It's a bit messy but with 5 or 6 quarts of cheapo stuff, a few quarts of Honda and a catch basin all worked out well.