89 accord power steering line leaking

Hello,

I've got an '89 Accord with 250,000 miles and this morning I found out I had
no power steering fluid in the reservoir. I took my wifes nice new van to
work and when I came home I topped up the reservoir and after starting the
car I lost it all again in a matter of a few seconds. I looked under tha car
and sure enough the fluid was running out on the ground from around the rack
area. I got under as far as I could and I believe it is leaking from the
pressure line from the pump just before the nut at the rack. I've got a
haynes and a chiltons book on this car and its the bigger of the steel lines
(17mm) coming out the back of the rack on the right hand side. I don't think
its the rack. I'll need to take off the shield under the rack tomorrow to be
sure though.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is this somethning a so, so home
mechanic can do? Are these steel lines even available? Do you need to go to
the dealer for them? That would be an awful long line from the rack to the
pump. Is there any unions or anything between the rack and the pump or do
you need to replace the whole thing? Can you cut out the bad section and use
hydraulic hose and hose clamps or would that not hold?

Any info anyone can give would be greatly appreciated as this car is worth a
lot to me even though it's so old. It gets me to work everyday and still
starts on the coldest of winter days. I've had this car for 13 years and my
kids would cry if I had to get rid of it!

Thanks
Andy

 

Sorry it's a 14mm nut not 17mm

 

gotta be sure of the leak origin andy - pointless replacing that hose if
it's not the cause.

yes, all the lines are available. not cheap, but oem is more reliable
than any home made repair. buy the correct size flare nut wrench before
even trying to unbolt - they're in there tight & once you round the
flats off with the wrong tool, your only solution is a plumbers pipe
wrench. the plumbers pipe wrench does the job just great, but you gotta
take half the car apart to have sufficient room to work it. buy the
right flare nut wrench! a good one that won't open out on you!!!

 

Other advice, once you determine where the leak is at and get it fixed,
flush the system out with Honda Power Steering Fluid. Honda uses special
fluid. Use of other fluids such as ATF will cause the seals in the power
steering rack to fail.

Eric

 

I did one of these on my son's car about three years ago. Got the hose
at NAPA, and also a set of flare wrenches. I tied a heavy string to the
lower end of the hose (it was the one that runs across the front of the
engine) and pulled it out from the top. I then used the string to help
me remember where the replacement hose went, and to help pull it back
under the car. One of the harder jobs I've done, but the car ran well
for another year, and my son sold it for $500 when he bought his '98.
bob

 

I got the guard off tonight and found out it was actually the return line to
the reservoir that was leaking. I got the old fitting out and used a hacksaw
to cut off the bad section of steel tubing. Went down to a local garage and
they gave me a new piece of flared tubing with a new nut. Ended up the new
nut was too short and wouldn't bottom the flared tubing out in the control
body. I took the old nut back to the garage and got it cleaned up and a
piece of tubing on it. Connecting the new nut and tubing to the old tubing
with rubber hose and hose clamps started up the car topped up the fluid bled
the lines and then the fluid went down again. The same line started leaking
again just a few inches from the new rubber hose on the original steel line.
I'm gonna have to buy more rubber hose and replace it right up to the top of
the left fender just before the reservoir. The other lines do look bad and
i'll probablt replace the high pressure hose soon. Having four kids and a
stay at home wife makes my money have to go in many directions. This car is
just my old get around car. I've got a new Chev Venture my wife uses so I'll
hopefully be able to keep my old Accord on the road a little longer. I did
buy a flare nut wrench but still couldn't get the nut out with it, I had to
use a large pipewrench which did chew up one flat of the nut some. Oh well
it worked. Let you know how I make out tomorrow with the rest of the rubber
hose.

 

You can remove the power steering belt if you need to drive the car before
you get a chance to permanently fix this problem. The steering will be a
bit heavier than normal but it should be fine. It will be better for the
pump as you don't want it to run dry and it will be better for the
environment as you won't be leaking power steering fluid all over the place.

Eric