Driver8692

my
2003 Accord EX 2.4L 4 cyl VTec
miles 110,000


Please read the following history and please tell me if you have an idea what’s going on.

My biggest question is what could my local shop have done that caused a current problem.

I started off having a power steering fluid leak and the whine that goes with a power steering problem.

Oct 19
Replaced power steering high pressure line.
As part of normal maintenance recommendations, The shop recommended a new Drive Belt, it was frayed.

Leak decreased but still lost fluid and ps still whined.


Nov 8
New Outside Drive Belt ( that drives the ps pump, alternator, etc)
also new Valve Cover Gasket

power steering still whined


Nov 14
Power Steering Pump removed, replaced with new, did not solve the problem, so on their own the shop reinstalled the old one immediately. No Charge. Shop said it must be the rack.


Nov 20
New Power Steering Rack and 4 wheel alignment.
The ps whine went away at this repair.


3(?) weeks later I discovered a lot of both ps fluid and also what apparently was thick motor oil was all over all around ps pump, the belt area. The ps fluid had gotten quite low. Also found a rubber bungy strap sitting on the engine the mechanic left there from before.



Dec 20
Shop said motor oil was from oil pressure switch and that it did in fact need a new ps pump, that it was leaking too
so:
New Power Steering Pump. Again.
and
New oil pressure switch
and shop recommendation to replace VTEC gaskets


From this last repair, when I drove the car away from the shop, there was a new sound, a somewhat similar whine but different, not a whine when I turned the wheel, a whine that goes in harmony with the engine rpms, at idle and above. With the hood up, and even from inside the car, the sound seems to come from the same area of the ps pump, alternator, and that belt. Again though its sound is not a lot different than the power steering whine.

I called the shop right away. I took it back in a couple days, they looked at it and said they think it may be an alternator bearing and that if I bring it back ( again !! ?? ) they will put a stethoscope on it and see if they can be certain where it is coming from. They said there was no hurry.

misc:
the O Ring everyone talks about, the mechanic said it’s been replaced. I turned the steering lock to lock a few times and checked for air in the ps fluid and see none. The shop said it is not air in the ps system. They said it is not the belt.

This latest sound is all the time, not only when the engine is cold – there is no difference. You hear it more at low rpms but that’s because of less other outside noise I think. There’s no grating but it almost feels like there is a resistance.

Also the car is showing no signs of lights dimming, that can happen when an alternator is going bad. However, as of yesterday, the Need Maint light is flashing as I start the car.

So if it is the alternator, and also I realize it also could be the tensioner pulley or something else entirely ( suggestions appreciated),
but again, the most important help everyone could be, if you have such an experience,
If it is the alternator, why did it go bad immediately when they replaced the ps pump? Could they have over tightened the belt ? Done something else? Obviously, from this history, I have given them the benefit of the doubt. But it was making this latest noise as I drove away and not at all before. Also I have good ears and this sound wasn’t being covered up by the ps whine which had been gone since the new rack.

This is a shop that primarily works on foreign cars. Clearly (now) they are parts changers not diagnosticians.

Thank you very much for your help!

I'm new so I think my posts are limited to 2 the first 5 days.

Dârk83

There is a lot to this so I will try my best...

If you saw the leak, that's a dead giveaway what to fix. After they did the pressure line, if they didn't bleed out the air enough it would cause the level to go down and sometime "burp" it's way out of the reservoir. But after that it should have leveled off. If you did not see a leak, chances are it was the rack from the start.

There is only 1 belt. So not sure why they would have sold you a replacement within a few weeks of each other.

If there was a noise heard they should have used the stethoscope right away and then taken the belt off to spin the pulleys by hand to verify where the sound was coming from.

Now the oil you found. The Oil Pressure Switch is on the back side of the block and slightly above the oil filter. Unless they were referring to the Vtec block that's on the head (which does have a screen in the gasket). Not sure why on Nov 8th they replaced the valve cover gasket, but if they did that incorrectly it could cause oil on your power steering pump.

At this point, I would bring your receipts to a Honda dealer. Have them diagnose it and depending on the outcome, get some money back from the shop you have been going to.

Acrdr

Crv with the same engines had water pump issues . It sounds like a bad alternator but it would be the water pump making noise
A/c compressor pulley may make noise as well
Turn a/c on and off to see if it changes

BLKFLSH

How much were you charged for all this? I think you need a new mechanic/shop.