leon718

2004 Accord EX accord 2004 v6

Hello everyone. I have a technical question and I am hoping someone can answer it. As it got colder in the mornings here in NY, I noticed that there was a whining noise coming out from under the hood each morning. The noise got worse as I turned the steering wheel or incrased RPMs. The noise, however, did go away about 20min after driving. Anyway, I took the car to the mechanic and got the PS pump and serpentine belt replaced. However the noise is still there. I am really convinced that the noise is PS related since it gets worse when I turn the wheel side to side. I am not so much concerned with getting a new pump for no reason, I just want to fix the problem. Does anyone think that the PS fluid needs to be flushed? Since the viscocity maybe effected by the temperature and thus it puts more pressure on the PS pump in early morning than after 20min of driving? Anyway, any suggestions will be much appreciated.

creator1322

I've heard that this is caused by air getting into the PS system via a bad o-ring.

Generally, just replacing the o-ring(s) are at the pump will solve the noise issue.

This is just from my knowledge of reading posts previously. Someone else may be able to give you a more definite answer.

Targa250R

This is correct - it's a common problem especially on J-series V6 models. The O-ring on the inlet neck of the pump is faulty. Honda had a service bulletin on this problem.

The updated O-ring (Honda part no. 91345-RDA-A01) is orange/brown in color to differentiate it from the original factory part, which is black.

BLKFLSH

I just changed the oring on my car, and the noise is gone (it was really loud on the first cold morning of the year). Sorry to say, but your mechanic screwed you on the pump and belt.
The orange o-ring looked to be thicker than the original black one was. Here is the Bulletin

leon718

what tool did you use to get the O ring installed? the space is tight

BLKFLSH

10mm wrench is all it takes. A socket and ratchet is too long. Just try to get the wrench on the bolt as high as possible, so you will have room to push it down. Twist the fitting, while pulling it out. The little black o-ring was on the inside the pump fitting, not on the hose, so I had to use a small screw driver to pull it out. Coated the new o-ring with some power steering fluid, pushed it into the pump where the old o-ring was, and slipped the hose/fitting back in. The bolt doesn't need to be tight at all (8 lb-ft I think).

crickettnb

I had the same problem and a new o-ring fixed it

The Predator

I had the same problem also, they replaced the O ring, but there is still a little noise coming from that area NOT as bad as it use to be. It goes away after a little while from driving, so I'm not too sure what else it could be?

ed4ward1982

i installed the little o-ring on my wifes 04 Accord w/ 92k miles last week and the noise is gone! i lost a tiny amount of ps fluid after removing the hose+old o-ring. i changed it while the engine cool btw, if this helps . i have to check again, but i used to notice a wet spot w/ dirt collecting on the other ps hose on top with the two bolts. i hope changing the o-ring will eliminate all that!

Targa250R

That's the pressure hose, and it's leaking. It has nothing to do with the suction hose/O-ring.

0Steve@Spreen

Wonder if they used the new updated o-ring? My thought is they didn't, while any new o-ring will help a little, the black ones do not work as well It needs to be the orange ones.

0Steve@Spreen

We really need to sticky this as there are 3 threads alone on the front page

Kev2010

This was common on the 03-04 models.

Change the O-ring, but You did you're self a favor by changing the PS Pump and serpentine belt as preventive maintenance.