sgraham01

Just noticed yesterday that my left steering rack boot has finally ruptured, and it looks to have power steering fluid leaking from inside the boot. I assume that this is leaking from a seal inside the rack, so does anyone know of a common fix for this or which seal usually goes bad? Just wanted to see if anyone has had this problem and knows what it might be before I spend too much time finding the leak.

Thanks

sgraham01

Looks like I may be ordering the seal kit and rebuilding the rack. reman rack is well over $200.

fleetw00d

Same problem here. Just got all the parts yesterday. Odd that it is my 93 with the least miles that is leaking and my 90 with almost 3x the miles still has the original rack without a major issue.

RICKSAUTOMOTIVE

yep. if i remember correct, we didnt want to buy the special tools to rebuild the racks so we decided to just buy the remaned racks. look to see if you need special tools to do it correctly first. may cost you more than the cost of a new remaned rack now if you mess up on the rebuild. good luck. hope it works out well

sgraham01

the honda service manual makes rebuilding this thing look pretty complicated, but after reading it a few times, it doesn't seem too bad. They mention some special tools, but they don't look to be absolutely necessary. I think i should be able to pull it off. If you do yours soon and have any tips to share, please send them on.

RICKSAUTOMOTIVE

is this for the accord LX you have listed in your rides? 94 it says

sgraham01

yes. for my 94 lx. I just finished the body work and paint on it a couple months ago, and now it's time once again for a mechanical repair. I was hoping to just drive and enjoy it for a little while before the next issue.

RICKSAUTOMOTIVE

okay let me look at the my info and see if it has the rebuild procedure for it. i think it does which is why we thought of doing this at one time. hang on or check back in a few if you can

sgraham01

thanks, I have the factory service manual with the rebuild procedure if that's what you are looking for.

sgraham01

update--just swapped the rack seals yesterday, and I'm going to put the rack back in this week and hope for the best.

If you don't have any patience, forget about doing this and go buy a reman rack. I am the most patient person I know, and I barely got through it. It's not that difficult, it's just a pain.

once you have the unit out, you'll need a crescent wrench that opens to at least 41 mm (I had to go buy a 12" Crescent), a 1/8" drill bit and drill, two jaw puller to press the rack out of the cylinder, 1" wooden dowel about 2-3 feet long to press out the inner seal, tape to cover the shaft ends and teeth as you slide the seals on, torque wrenches and the factory manual at a minimum.

If you need any advice from someone who mistakenly braved this, let me know.

CRZ1

My 97 accord LX left side(driver side) steering gear boot was broken for quite a while and power steering fluid leaking from inside the boot. Does this mean the power steering gear box need to be replaced or fixed like your? I lose power steer fluid many years ago. I need to add a little every 3 ~ 4 years. I did not pay attention.

Thanks!

sgraham01

if fluid is leaking from the boot, then the rack cylinder seals are leaking (at least the one on the side with the leak. Usually starts on the driver's side. You can replace the seals, but it is a pain in the A$$. I did it, but i would buy a reman rack if i needed to do it again. It's not worth the time and frustration.

CRZ1

sgraham01,

Thanks!

Is the re-manufactured one it number 18 in

http://www.hondapartsnow.com/online/....%20Gear%20Box
?

More than $500, pretty expensive.

sgraham01

http://www.autozone.com/autozone/par...mString=search

get a reman unit from autozone or another parts store. Much cheaper and it's essentially the same thing. shop around, and maybe you can find it cheaper.

CRZ1

sgraham01,

Thanks a lot!