do hondas have a drain plug such like draining oil or something? ideas? help?

 

Never had to drain the p/s system, but you can always crack open a line going to the rack and let it drain that way.

 

Use a turkey baster to get as much out of the reservoir as possible then have lots of paper towels haha

 

For what reason do you need to drain it? If you're talking about changing the fluid the best way to do it is to use a vacuum machine to suck the fluid from the reservoir, fill with new, start car and turn wheel left to right, shut car off, and repeat procedure. If you just need to drain it for an engine pull, just crank open the line that goes from the reservoir to the rack and start the car. It'll come out pretty fast, trust me.

 

just wanted to change it to add fresh. car has 259k on it and im not sure if its every been done. gotta be time... how much does the system hold anyway? whats in the res has to be a fraction of whats in the system.

 

My 96 took a little less than 2 pints. Drained tank. Disconnected return hose.
Connected longer hose to an empty milk jug. Turned car on for 5 seconds to clear out remaining fluid. Reconnected return hose. Filled tank to top line with fresh fluid. Turned on car again for 5 seconds. Refill tank to midway between cold and hot lines. Done.

You can also turn the wheel lock-to-lock while running to remove any trapped air.

 

that little huh? used honda fluid? wanted to use amsoil bc heard its that much better than anything out there. synthetic?
thx...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b18crx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that little huh? used honda fluid? wanted to use amsoil bc heard its that much better than anything out there. synthetic?
thx...
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Whats wrong with sticking to Honda OEM fluids?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TheMuffinMan &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Whats wrong with sticking to Honda OEM fluids?</TD></TR></TABLE>


i dont know that there is. this is why i asked the question first.

 

I used some Honda specific PSF I purchased at a NAPA store. Seems to be working OK after 1 month, but who knows???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b18crx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


i dont know that there is. this is why i asked the question first.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I personally prefer sticking to the OEM stuff

(OEM coolant,ps fluid, etc)

The only exception will be I'm upgrading my braking fluid for performance reasons.

 

how can you tell when its time for a new pump? gradually or just goes out and you cant steer at all? how can you tell the diff between needing a new rack or PSP?

 

If it's really hard to turn the steering wheel or you hear noise from your power steering pulley then most likely its the pump. If you can turn normally but there is noise coming from the rack or if rack is not responding than its the rack.

 

its pretty much a slight slight hint of a squeak but only when car is warming up. and i can feel a pulsating in the wheel itself. its very little sound but that skip feeling in the wheel and its not all the time. only seldom and only when the car is stopped while turning the wheel and ive only noticed it when cold.

 

Honda power steering fluid is different from other companies, so most power steering fluid is written *NOT FOR HONDA*. Just stick with OEM. Has anyone heard of anything improving from changing the fluid?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by b18crx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its pretty much a slight slight hint of a squeak but only when car is warming up. and i can feel a pulsating in the wheel itself. its very little sound but that skip feeling in the wheel and its not all the time. only seldom and only when the car is stopped while turning the wheel and ive only noticed it when cold.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Sounds like the belt is loose from that description;
The Honda PSF is vegatable based fluid, if you use petrolum based fluid it will ruin the seals in the rack really fast.
There are aftermarket fluids made specifically for Hondas, I've used 'GUNK' brand and had no problems.

 

i used honda fluid but this problem was occuring before i started thinking about fluids. when i say problem its not a big problem yet. just trying to scale what's coming or occuring to make me wonder if i need fluid, a psp, or a rack.

 

What happens if you don't use Honda-specific PS fluid? I bought a bottle for my mom's car that specified that it was for Honda vehicles to top off the reservoir awhile back. However, the idiot who attempted to replace the timing belt (posted in another thread) I guess disconnected the hose from the reservoir to move the PS out of the way, and filled it up with generic Prestone PS fluid...