Power steering leak. Have a good idea where.

[DR.ZED]

Did a search, and I know there are a lot of you out there.

88 Accord, A4, 2.0L Fi, 46,000 miles (I know!).

The car started pissing out ps fluid yesterday, when I bought it from my fiancee's grandmother (bought it new in 88).

Took the PS line shield off the bottom, and there is a distribution block where the two lines from the pump. It appears it is leaking from THIS unit where it MEETS the actual rack at the top.

Is this a common spot? I took the bolts out, and put them back in, its not that. I appears that maybe there is a gasket there, that has broken.

I took off the belt to the pump. What is my outcome if I leave the pump disconnected and run the car without PS?

I doubt it is still leaking out, with the pump disconnected.

???

Thanks everybody in advance!

[carotman]

I had a leak in the exact same spot 2 years ago. It turned out it was one of the hoses that rusted through and let out fluid as soon as there was some pressure in the system.

The best thing would be to turn the wheels and look under the car at the same time... it's dangerous tough.

I recommend that you get it checked in a shop. Once you know exactly what the problem is, you can always repair it yourself.

[DR.ZED]

Originally posted by carotman
I had a leak in the exact same spot 2 years ago. It turned out it was one of the hoses that rusted through and let out fluid as soon as there was some pressure in the system.

The best thing would be to turn the wheels and look under the car at the same time... it's dangerous tough.

I recommend that you get it checked in a shop. Once you know exactly what the problem is, you can always repair it yourself.

Ack... its not dangerous.

;)

I put the car on ramps and ran the motor. I could see CLEARLY that is was leaking from the TOP, down the front. It was not the lines, nor the bolts that hold this distribution block to the rack.

I have found out that there IS a seal (go Majestic Honda), inbetween these two units, and its a cheap piece.

I believe this is my solution.

Any thoughts on this?

[isadisa]

sounds good, and no you will not hurt anything if you take the belt off and drive around like that

[ACCORD EX]

you can drive without power steering but after ( say a year ) the rack will fail because the teeth are not designed for rough operation ( MANUAL )!

MIKE

[DR.ZED]

Thanks all.

I'll get this seal on the weekend.

Moving into my first house with my fiance, so its not priority right now.

Any 3Gz clubs in Toronto, Canada?

[bradccool]

my car had the same problem about 2 weeks after I bought it....just replaced the hose......no biggie.........I think this is a common problem

[DR.ZED]

Originally posted by bradccool
my car had the same problem about 2 weeks after I bought it....just replaced the hose......no biggie.........I think this is a common problem

This one isn't the pressurized lines.

I looked carefully, and can say with confidence its the seal that seals the rack AND the small distribution block (as I call it), that the two lines come into. They are separate pieces.

This dist. block has a wreckers yellow paint on it, so I suspect the gasket or seal wasn't changed.

Poo poo... but a project to bond with the car, nonetheless.

[89LXcoupe]

My cars PS was failing slowly about a month ago and then its just went to shit and all the fluid drained out. I replaced the hose from the pump to the distribution block as its called in this thread and that fixed the main leak, but it has continued to slowly leak around the little distribution block. Where do I get the seal, is a Honda dealership the best place and secondly, how the hell do you get that thing off. I can't remember there being any bolts, it looked more like the whole unit screws out. I may be wrong I'll check again tomorrow. And any other advice from those you have completed this job that may make my life a little easier. Thanks for your help!!!!

[DR.ZED]

Originally posted by 89LXcoupe
My cars PS was failing slowly about a month ago and then its just went to shit and all the fluid drained out. I replaced the hose from the pump to the distribution block as its called in this thread and that fixed the main leak, but it has continued to slowly leak around the little distribution block. Where do I get the seal, is a Honda dealership the best place and secondly, how the hell do you get that thing off. I can't remember there being any bolts, it looked more like the whole unit screws out. I may be wrong I'll check again tomorrow. And any other advice from those you have completed this job that may make my life a little easier. Thanks for your help!!!!

There are two 10mm bolts that go directly into the rack.

One is hidden under one of the PS lines. I DID NOT take this line off to get clear access to the bolt. It was a pain and took about an hour of wrenching, but I didn't want to chance doing damage to this bolt on the line.

See my recent post "PS fixed"