I seem to be accumulating 3rd gen accords.

[skifreak]

I have had my '88 LX-i for about 20 years. Picked up another '88 for my son for $1 a year ago. Neighbor sold it to me cheap since I did all of the mechanic work on it. However, at 280k miles, my son's $1 Accord was on it's last legs (bearing noise). So I picked up a cherry condition '88 LX with 170k miles for a grand. I will sell the high mileage Accord so that way I have only 2 3rd gens in the garage, not including my '93 LX and '06 Odyssey and two Honda VFR motorcycles. I see a theme...

The recent purchase has a leaking power steering rack. I know it is not a fun job and have not done it before. However, some of you, for sure, have done it before and have some tricks up your sleeve. Can anyone point me to a good thread on power steering rack replacement on a 3rd gen LX with an automatic tranny? There must be one out there.

[MessyHonda]

if you look around they have a pdf manual so that will be a good start. i had to replace my rear subframe and i had to switch my rack. not a fun job but it can be done.

[skifreak]

I have the shop manual. However, some real world wisdom from someone who has done it always helps.

[Dr_Snooz]

I replaced the one on my '82 Accord. Invest in some good safety glasses if you don't want a bunch of crap to fall in your eyes while you work underneath. Also wear some old clothes that you won't mind throwing away when you're done. You'll be covered in filth when you're done.

An alignment afterward is essential if you want to keep your tires for any length of time. You must drive to the shop, however, so you want to try to get close to a correct toe before making that trip. I used a tape measure to measure the distance between the center of the tread of one tire and the center of the tread of the other tire. I took the measure toward the front of the vehicle, then toward the back, then adjusted the tie rod ends. When the measurements came out equal, I knew I was close enough.

Getting the flare lines re-connected was also frustrating. You have to bend them out of the way to get the rack out. Then they don't line up right with the new rack, so you have to bend them back again. Bend carefully, or they'll kink and you'll be sad.

Oh, and while you're bending, they'll be dripping.......

Detaching the connection between the steering column and the rack is challenging, given the confined space. The final step to remove the rack involved twisting it forward and I really struggled with that. It's been too long for me to remember how I managed it. What I seem to remember is that the u-joint connection assembly slides UP on the steering column away from the spline shaft on the rack. THEN you twist the rack forward and it comes out. I tried twisting with the u-joint assembly still resting over the spline shaft, thinking it would drop away. It did not and there was profuse and uncontrollable swearing that sent all the neighbors running for safety.

When you get done, you won't want to do it again, so be certain to use only the special Honda-type fluid and NEVER use anything else.