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I own a 1993 Honda Accord LX, 80,000 miles. For some time, mostly cold weather, and at 35 MPH plus, when turning the steering wheel, left or right, in a gentle turn the groan coming from the PS pump area was moderate. Now the condition is worse. In hot weather the growl/groan in any turn, fast or slow MPH is far worse. Also the power assist is lacking most of the time, and to turn the wheel is as if there is manual steering. The reservoir is full. Thanks for any advice! This is clearly not ball joint related.
In the past couple of years in cold weather only, as I would round a corner at 20-30 MPH the steering gear would groan/squeal. Today the squeal/groan is worse and it does it at all MPH speeds. In fact the steering pump seems to be failing, as often there is no power assist. The steering fluid level is fine (Honda fluid). I added some fluid about a year ago but it only required about an ounce. Thanks for weighing in on this issue.
My mother in law had the same issue with her 93 honda accord, but she had 241k miles on the car. Her steering rack was shot and needed to be replaced. After replacing the steering rack everything was fixed.
It could be the oring where the high pressure hose attaches to the pump is bad, causing some whine but it could just be the ps pump orings are worn and it needs a rebuild. I would probably replace the two orings that attach the hoses to the pump and the ps pump orings as well. You can also change out the reservoir fluid using a vacuum pump to suck it all out, refill it with new Honda ps fluid and then turn the car and turn the steering wheel lock to lock a few times and redo the procedure again.
Thank you for the great replies. This car has been garage-kept, and well cared for since new. Despite this, these older cars do develop rust on the steel high-pressure P-S lines, as this one did. As I pulled in the car for a complete exhaust replacement I noticed oil rapidly appearing on my floor. Oil was gushing from the leak, it is the middle steel line connecting to the rack. This line is rusted through just about a few inches above the aluminum housing that sits at the driver side of the rack... this explains the loss of power assist. I was able to easily loosen the nut that connects this line....a good thing. This particular line runs across to the passenger side then disappears. I am hoping to be able to cut into a rust-free section of line in mid rack where I have access. I can then, hopefully make up a new piece of line and connect to the fresh cut. Just how I will do this is a mystery to me right now. If anyone has done that before I would appreciate any advice. I will also attempt to do the o-ring repairs too. Never did that before...as long as there is room to work, why that is half the battle. Among the P-S leak repairs this car is in for a complete exhaust, oil pan/gasket, right side axle assembly, & front pads. These are good cars but need lots of attention as do all older cars. Many Thanks.
One idea is that you can try driving it with the power steering disabled. If the belt goes from the crank around the power steering pump, and only the power steering pump, remove it. You shouldn't try to turn the wheel or drive it with the belt moving the power steering pump, without sufficient power steering fluid in it and with a leak like that I doubt you have sufficient fluid in it. The pump will burn out, and you'll need a new pump on top of everything else. If you really want to replace the line yourself, check out some YouTube videos, especially by guys like Scotty Kilmer, Ericthecarguy (ex Honda mechanic), Briansmobile1, and Chris Fix. I wouldn't try it myself, but what I would try, and have successfully tried, doing some of the other things yourself like the axle, the oil pan, and the brake pads, and even the exhaust, and save a bunch of money on those things that you can apply to the power steering line problem.
If you get it to stop leaking, and it is still groaning, Scotty Kilmer has a YouTube video on how to try to fix a groaning power steering pump, using a product called TransTune. I have used it and it worked for me.
Thanks for taking your time to reply, and for the great tips USER456101; I will surely look into those youtube videos. Most all of the projects that I will tackle on this Honda are pretty straight forward. As for a leaking pressure line in a PS system, why yes, this does present and completely new, and different set of dynamics. I will post when I reach the "finish line". Eric
Thank you for the great replies. This car has been garage-kept, and well cared for since new. Despite this, these older cars do develop rust on the steel high-pressure P-S lines, as this one did. As I pulled in the car for a complete exhaust replacement I noticed oil rapidly appearing on my floor. Oil was gushing from the leak, it is the middle steel line connecting to the rack. This line is rusted through just about a few inches above the aluminum housing that sits at the driver side of the rack... this explains the loss of power assist. I was able to easily loosen the nut that connects this line....a good thing. This particular line runs across to the passenger side then disappears. I am hoping to be able to cut into a rust-free section of line in mid rack where I have access. I can then, hopefully make up a new piece of line and connect to the fresh cut. Just how I will do this is a mystery to me right now. If anyone has done that before I would appreciate any advice. I will also attempt to do the o-ring repairs too. Never did that before...as long as there is room to work, why that is half the battle. Among the P-S leak repairs this car is in for a complete exhaust, oil pan/gasket, right side axle assembly, & front pads. These are good cars but need lots of attention as do all older cars. Many Thanks.
You're going to need a tubing cutter (less than $10 at any auto parts store), a flaring tool (free rental at Advance or AutoZone), proper sized I.D./O.D. tubing (sold by the foot at any auto parts store. Unfortunately I cannot recall the exact size you'll need?) and compression a coupler, which will connect the two flared ends of the tubing together... make sure to measure twice and cut once, put the necessary compression parts on the old tubing before doing your flare and be sure to prep the replacement piece completely also, use the coupler to connect the new piece to the old, and you can reuse the nut from the original tubing to the steering rack.... Viola!
Well, after many weeks of part-time work I have completed all my repairs on this '93 Accord LX. On the power steering, pressure-side leak. I was lucky to learn about the Ham-Let Group stainless steel 316 union connector. This is a 6mm compression connector, PN 762HLSS6MM. I was also lucky to find a length of 6mm brake line at my local auto parts chain store. I was able to cut into a clean section of PS line about eight inches above the leak; I will include a photo in my next post.
The exhaust replacement turned out to be a success. The folks at Bosal helped out when I encountered a technical question. One flange joint did not pull up tight when I used their recommended gasket...another gasket was required. Bosal has revised their site per our experience.
The oil pan and gasket went well with no issues. Ah, now about the captive rotors. If not for Eric The Car Guy, and his videos, why replacement would have been a mystery. With four M10 x 1.25 x 100 hardened bolts installed, driving the bearing/hub assembly off of the knuckles was nasty! The rust was the culprit. Once everything was all apart, cleaned, and grease applied, the bearing/hub assembly fit right nicely back onto the knuckle. I also replaced the rusted out Splash Guards, Honda PN 45255-SM4-900. I fit new brake pads as well. I used my pneumatic needle scaler to remove all rust from under the stainless steel brake pad "keepers." The new pads dropped in nicely without a fight. The new passenger-side half shaft completed my work here.
Well, sometimes we get lucky, upon startup, I had no leaks from the exhaust, PS repair, or oil pan. I do however still have a groan in the PS when turning the steering wheel. I will look into the Scotty Kilmer recommendation. Many thanks to all of you that replied to my original post; this is greatly appreciated...
Last edited by mrfixit54; 08-23-2017 at 11:56 AM.
Reason: spelling
I would suggest getting a power steering pump oring kit and the two orings that attach the lines to the pump, the suction line oring and the return line oring that fits under the joint.
You can use a vacuum pump to suck out all the fluid from the reservoir, it only takes a few seconds, then add new Honda ps fluid, start it up and turn the steering wheel lock to lock about ten times, turn it off and redo the suck and fill, do this about three times, it will take about two bottles.
Then rebuild the ps pump, it's actually pretty easy, especially with the location of the pump on our 4th gen accords. Keep in mind that the pulley nut is righty loosey on these pumps. Make sure as you replace the orings in the pump that you dip each one in ps fluid. This is very important for installation, especially for the high pressure suction hose. You really need to dip that thing in power steering fluid.
Thank you holmesnmanny for these terrific tips! The funny thing is that since my repairs, and keeping an eye on the PS fluid level, adding as needed, the squeal and groans have quieted to the point of not being heard (for now). Perhaps two bottles of new Honda fluid has helped? Anyway I will keep these tips nearby, and handy. Meanwhile, here are a few images of my P-S line repair. This shows the new 6mm tubing (I used the original nut), and the LET-LOK compression fitting. These fittings are a double ferule-type that are rated at 2500PSI, so I am told. Thanks again to all that have posted replies...these are awesome!
07-25-2017, 10:47 AM
1993 Accord steering squeals & and groans
