motayba

Hi all, here's my story.
For the last couple of winters, the power steering might whine on its first start of the day, but quickly be quiet and work fine. I never bothered looking under the hood.

This past fall, the power steering stopped working, and the fluid level was low and I topped it off with Prestone "Asian" (supposedly made for Honda) PS fluid.

All was fine until a week ago when the power steering stopped working again, but the fluid level wasn't low, I couldn't see any leaks, and there were no bubbles (that I could see) in the reservoir.

Taking another look at it a couple days later (the power steering still wouldn't work) but I let it warm up for a bit longer. After 10 minutes or so, the PS fluid pump started making a little noise (a "tick" sound, fast enough to sound like a fairly high-pitched buzz) for about 40 seconds (changing speed & pitch) and then stopped.

When I got in the car, the power steering started to come back. I drove around for a minute or two, parked, then turned it off. When I came back a couple hours later, it was working right on the start. I shut it down and didn't drive it any more that day.

The next morning (about 18 hours later), there was no power steering at first, but it came back after driving about 100 yards. Whined at first, but then quiet. (This was yesterday.) I drove it maybe 10 minutes all day with no more issue.

This morning (another 20 hours after last running), the power steering was working right off the bat. No noise.

What's going on? And what should I do? Replace the pump? Do I need to flush the system? I'm pretty capable with my hands (metal and wood working) but don't have experience working on cars.

Might it be okay if I do nothing?

Thanks in advance!

mcnoople

Personally, I would flush the system with proper honda fluid. The way to do this is simple.

You find the PS resevoir, unhook the smaller diameter hose and plug the newly open port on the reservoir. Now take the small hose that you unhooked from the reservoir and find some way to catch the fluid that will come out of the hose. We use a section of old airhose so that it can reach a bucket on the floor, but you could use some old garden around the outside of the hose if you want.

With the small hose going to a suitable catch container fill the reservoir, and then start the engine. If the pump is working it will empty the reservoir within 10 or so seconds. Continue to fill the reservoir and pump it through, we generally use 3 bottles of honda PS fluid during the flushing, I think they are 12 fl OZ each. Reconnect the hose to the reservoir, fill reservoir, and bleed the air out of the system.

If the pump is still good you should have a working PS system again. If the pump is still flaky replace the pump and I personally would also change the reservoir. It isn't very expensive and does have a filter screen at the bottom of the reservoir which can get clogged up with gunk.

The method that I have the best luck with for bleeding PS systems is full reservoir, start car and let run for 2 seconds, turn off engine. Refill reservoir, start engine for another 2 seconds, turn off......Basically run the engine for very short periods of time until the fluid level is full with the engine on. If the pump is loud and whiny, let the engine sit for a few minutes so that the air bubbles can settle out of the fluid. The noise is caused by foamy fluid getting pumped through the system. As long as it is pumping foam it won't get quieter.

GusBuz

This is the method that is in the service manual yes?

I need to do this too and soon, my fluid is looking old now.

ezone

Need to add:
Jack the front wheels up off the ground.
While the engine is running and new fluid is being pumped through for the flush, the steering wheel needs to be cycled back and forth, lock to lock repeatedly in order to get old and contaminated fluid expelled from within the hydraulic system inside the steering gear.

I found a TSB for Odyssey that explains the flush method better than I can:
http://www.urvi.net/forumfiles/SB/A07-005.PDF



OP: why did the fluid level become low in the first place? Where did the fluid go? What else needs fixed?

motayba

Thanks for spelling out what things I should try (and what order I should try them). I think I'll go buy everything I need so I can have it all on hand when it gives me trouble again. (Or at least until a weekend when I have time.) Will be sure to get the genuine Honda fluid this time.

motayba

Thanks. Nice PDF! And that makes sense, but how do I jack up both front wheels? Obviously, I need to buy a jack, but I don't know what kind could lift the front axle. (Hopefully one I could afford.)

Edit: Did some searching. Do I just need a jackstand? And use the jack that came with the spare? Like I said, I work with my hands a lot, but not on cars!

I have no idea how the fluid got low in the first place, and was very surprised when it wasn't low when the steering went out again six months later. No sign of a leak then or now. Strange.

So, uh, excuse me for asking, but where should the fluid level be when the engine is running and where should it be when it's not?

Edit: Okay, I had assumed it should be checked cold, but I thought that might not be the case. I did fill it a little close to the Max level (when cold), not so much in the middle. Could that be a problem?

GusBuz

I suggest downloading the repair manual https://www.civicforums.com/forums/182-7th-generation-civic/235295-looking-7th-gen-manual-free-updated-13.html

The last post on this thread has a link for the EM2 manual, it comes in handy.

Heres a pic of the lifting points on the car. U can use a jack to jack the car up from the front and use two jack stands on the sides, this way you can go under the car safely. NEVER go under a car using just a hydraulic jack and no jack stands, unless you want to be a pancake
Check for leaks on the rack now that u can.

The fluid should be no more than the max, so after flushing and filing, get rid of all the air and re-check to fill it up again if needed. Just how the procedure ezone linked to says.

mcnoople

I generally go for filling it to the max line when it is running and warm.

ezone

The car comes with a spare tire, lugwrench, and a jack in the trunk.
See the owners manual on how to use the jack. Support the car with safety stands after raising it.

motayba

Thank you, thank you. I didn't have that repair manual. Awesomeness. So I can use the jack that comes with the spare to jack up the front? I was afraid it would only be suitable for the side when changing a tire. And thanks for the safety tip. I'll pick up a couple of quality jack stands. Doing metalwork and woodwork, I work with a lot of stuff that can blow me up or mangle me, not crush me. This will be new!

motayba

Thanks. Will aim for that when I flush and refill.

motayba

Well yeah, I've had to use it. I just assumed it wouldn't be rated for lifting the entire front end. I guess it is? If I only need to spend money on a couple of jack stands, that will be great.

ezone

So you already know how to use the jack? Good. Make that work for this situation unless you want to buy a floor jack..

No, it is not. It may be able to pick up the weight but may not be very safe to do it that way.

Jack up one corner of the car at a time using the correct jacking locations.

This is doable, if.

motayba

Thanks again. I may just be temporarily dense, but I'm having trouble figuring out how I would do the jacking? If I jack one of the front corners (on the side), where do I put the jack stand? How would I get both front tires off the ground without using the jack on the front jack point?

ezone

Jackstands can go under the subframe.

motayba

Ahhhh. I don't know exactly what you mean, but I think I understand. Will look into that. Thanks!

Edit: Wheel blocks: Do I really need two sets, one behind and one in front of the rear tires, or just the one behind?

ezone

The Subframe is the large rectangular heavy steel structure that much of the drivetrain and front suspension attaches to.





You probably need enough blocks to prevent the car from moving forward or backward in the event a jack or jackstand slips.



We seem to have gone off on a tangent about jacking the car up.....I just mentioned that the steering needs cycled several times during the flush process to purge fluid out of the steering rack hydraulics. I mentioned raising the front wheels because it can be difficult to turn the steering wheel without full fluid flow (lack of power assist during the flush) and raising the front wheels makes it a lot easier to do this.

motayba

Yeah, but it was a good tangent! With info needed to raise it safely—for me and the next person. And now I can look for a leak from underneath!

Ordering another set of blocks. Better safe than...dead.

Cheers.

ezone

Ive used chunks of wood, bricks, etc.

My dad made ramps out of 4x4 lumber...wheel chocks too.

motayba

I thought about the DIY option, but this is for my safety and I prefer to spend the money on proper safety equipment (especially if it's not that expensive).