Steering feels stiffer than it used to be

[bushbean]

Howdy folks,

When I turn the steering wheel, there is extra resistence that shouldn't
be there. Once the extra resistence is overcome, the wheel turns light
as it should. The problem is worse when the car is moving fast, e.g. on
the freeway doing 60mph. When the car is not moving, the problem is
hardly noticeable.

Also, if there is a sideway slope on the road, the car will want very
much to veer to the side, and I have to
apply extra pressure to keep the car going straight. It's like there's
something wrong with the alighment, but on level road, the car tracks
very straight as an arrow. I drove my other car, a BMW, on the same
road with the sideway slope, and the Bimmer tracked very straight, very unlike the Accord. What's going on? Is the power steering on my Accord
crapping out?

Thanks.

[jschatte]

I had something a little similar happen to me. The steering was becoming stiffer, so i checked my power steering fluid, and it was down, also i knoticed a puddle underneath my car. So, my steering rack is screwed up too, so i guess where in the same boat. My advice is to just top up the power steering fluid for now, and hunt down a new rack.

[bushbean]

Hmm...did Honda make a manual rack for our beloved Accord? It would
clear up the clutter under the hood.

['89AccordLX(Rus)]

Some models in certain markets came fitted with a manual rack. They are now nearly extinct. Check your wheel caster. It can cause strange steering response if it is out of spec. This means you'll have to get a shop to check the alignment. Also, replace the P/S fluid with OEM fluid. It is not very expensive and is guaranteed not to destroy the rack (most aftermarket fluids are not recommended for Honda cars). HTH

[bushbean]

Some models in certain markets came fitted with a manual rack. They are now nearly extinct. Check your wheel caster. It can cause strange steering response if it is out of spec. This means you'll have to get a shop to check the alignment. Also, replace the P/S fluid with OEM fluid. It is not very expensive and is guaranteed not to destroy the rack (most aftermarket fluids are not recommended for Honda cars). HTH

Now you mention it, I think the problem is too much self-centering in the
suspension. The power steering might not be the culprit. Is the castor angle adjustable?

by the way, teh suspension on the car is all stock, with over 200k miles
on it.

['89AccordLX(Rus)]

Caster is adjustable through the front radius rods that connect the lower control arms to the front crossmember. A good shop should be able to adjust them for you.

[bushbean]

Caster is adjustable through the front radius rods that connect the lower control arms to the front crossmember. A good shop should be able to adjust them for you.

Is there any way to check and adjust myself? I'm kind of in a financial
jam right now.

Thanks!

[TdotWarrior]

i had a prob like that .... check your front ball joints

[bushbean]

i had a prob like that .... check your front ball joints

Everything on the suspension/steering feels tight; I checked it all
when I was replacing the clutch not too long ago.

['89AccordLX(Rus)]

The only thing I can think of is measuring the length of the radius rods on each side to make sure they are the same and then measuring the distance from the wheel center to each side of the wheel arch to make sure the wheels are in the same position on both sides. As mentioned before, balljoints can cause strange things like this as well. For example, my lower ball joints were not greased very well and would cause slight binding in the steering after some driving (when they got hot enough to thin out the grease inside). I regreased them using a needle attachment on the grease gun, and have not had any binding issues at all after that. Now adding grease will require a needle attachment to get under the boot, and you'll need to separate the lower arm from the knuckle to get the needle up under the boot. Total time for me was around an hour to do both sides. A pitman arm puller actually works really well for the lower balljoints. Takes some finesse to get it into position, but once its there, it pops the joint in 5 seconds. HTH

[Oldblueaccord]

If your sure everything is OK suspension wise then the cheap thing is to replace your power steering fluid. Use a turkey baster and pull out as much as you can thru the resivor. if you real careful you can start the car for a few seconds and refill the res. then suck that out too. Add back fresh fluid use the Honda fluid or the Bardayls equivelent for Hondas. Regular fluid is not compatable and will cause leaks and the very least.

I think our cars run the fluid a little to hot I try to "change" it 2 times a year.


Hope that helps.



wp

[TdotWarrior]

Everything on the suspension/steering feels tight; I checked it all
when I was replacing the clutch not too long ago.

yeah well double check that again.... my tire came off n my front end dipped to the ground when i was driving it cuz of the ball joint

[snoopyloopy]

so, i'll add this to my latest list of stolen threads. but i have a question. have any of you tried that steering-x stuff from walmart that supposed to fix or help with leaks from the ps system? or any ps fluid from walmart?

[Oldblueaccord]

I never have.

My friend on his ford truck used lome of that leak stop thats like guranteed but it didnt work on the seal on the steering box.

http://www.ferret.com.au/articles/ed/0c0216ed.asp

this is the stuff i use. Have in all my hondas since i was 16. I dont know if its better or worse. It used to be cheaper than the OEM fluid but Im not even sure thats the case anymore. Never had a rack leak or failure so Im gonna keep trucking with it.


wp

[snoopyloopy]

hmm....i might just go ahead and try this stuff then and see how it goes. it says it's safe for use in hondas.

[Oldblueaccord]

OK up date:

Bardahl is $3.99 12 oz here at Pep boys

the Honda fluid here at Rusty Wallace Honda $3.08 seems low but that s what they charged.


wp

[bushbean]

Update:

Turns out the problem with my steering was primarily caused by
under-inflated tires.

[TdotWarrior]

=/ that woulda been one of the first things i would have noticed ..... how deinflated were they?

[bushbean]

About 22 psi up front, 24 psi in the back. The tires are the cheap brand
from Discount Tires called Arizona. I filled them all up to 30psi, and then
the steering feels normal, stiff feel is gone.