greenmae

I have a 2003 Civic EX with steering problems. Initially the problem was the car would make a whining noise when turning the steering wheel and sometimes turning the wheel would be a bit more difficult.

The problems began a few years ago, and when I had it at the dealer they told me the pump was leaking. I wasn't planning on keeping the car much longer so I decided I'd just add fluid as needed. This worked for a while, but this past summer I noticed that I was still having problems even though the power steering reservoir was full. Since then, the whining noise and difficulty turning the wheel have gotten worse.

I'm now considering keeping the car so I want to fix this issue. I'd like to do it myself if it's not too difficult of a job. I have some experience working under the hood and can follow a manual pretty well. Any idea where to start troubleshooting? There's no check engine light on, the reservoir is full, and the difficulty turning the wheel is intermittent.

ezone

Possibility:

Go to a Junkyard/you-pull-it yard

Obtain a good used pump and reservoir,
install, fill, purge, flush, etc.

Honda fluid
(ATF is not compatible, if you have been using ATF that may have caused more problems, flush that out)

If that doesn't solve the issues, the steering rack may be next.