stinkfoot

Hi,

Back in July I had a replacement rack & pinion put on the car by a reputable auto shop to pass inspection. Since then there has been no leaking. About a month ago the power steering pump started making noise during cold start up (temperatures less that 20 degrees Fahrenheit) and the power steering wouldn't work until the car warmed up. This got progressively worse until the power steering didn't work at all.

I figured the pump was damaged due the leaking fluid prior to the rack replacement so I put a remanufactured pump on it over the weekend using Honda PS fluid and replaced the belt at the same time. I bled the system as described by turning the wheel to the left and right many times and topping off the fluid. Unfortunately the power steering still does not work.

The new pump is not making any noise and I can see the fluid circulating in the reservoir when the car is running so I know the pump is working and the lines are not plugged. I doubt it's the rack because that was recently replaced and there has been no leaking since then. What else could be causing this?

We planned on replacing this car in June so I don't want to spend much on it now. It's my wife's daily driver though so it needs power steering, if it were mine I'd just muscle through until the budget allows for the replacement car to be purchased. It's a lot easier to drive without power steering than my old F-250 was!

Thanks for any help.

lazlong

Are you absolutely sure the pump is working? It should make some kind of noise all the times.

Unfortunately, without special tools you can't really do the diagnostic tree. The only things you can do is look for leaks (which I doubt because you say you can see the fluid) and look for excessive twisting of the rubber hoses and kinks in the metal lines. Otherwise it's gonna be something wrong with the rack.

stinkfoot

The pump is definitely working. I unhooked the return line to the reservoir and started the car and it pumped the reservoir almost empty in a matter of seconds before I shut off the car.