hi HT.com
Just picked up my first civic, its a 99 lx saloon. And first thing Ive done the next day was get a oil change, as while it was lifted up, i noticed a consistent leak of power steering coming from the cv boot?! (driver side)
I just looked at the level of power steering and its all out after a day..
whats wrong?

 

The power steering system and the boot aren't related... If you have a leak in the power steering, check all the connections. The resevoir and I think return line on the pump have hose clamps and the others are either like pipe fittings or like the one on top the pump has a part that bolts in and has an O-ring to seal it.

make sure your CV boots aren't torn. If they just tore, you can put a new one on, but it's easier to just buy a new axle for like $60 instead of $40 for both boots...

 

You are probably talking about PS fluid leaking from driver-side boot of the steering rack. This means that the end seal has a severe leak. You generally need to replace the entire steering rack to fix.

 

^ He's right, and it's a pain in the ***.

 

so is there anything I can do?
would the best bet be just take all the power steering componets off?

 

The best thing you could do would to be replace the steering rack. You could get a manual rack and put that on, but that would still be the same amount of trouble as the power rack.

 

what if I just replace the boot? I REALLY REALLY do not wanna change the whole steering rack..

 

It doesn't work that way. The boot is a dust cover not a fluid seal. The leaking fluid seal is located at the end of the rack. You need to remove the rack to replace it, or do what most people do, just replace the rack. You can buy a rebuilt one for less than $300, but then you have to install it yourself if you don't want to pay a mechanic.

 

ok, I forgot to mention, that the actually reservoir for the power steering is wet, and looks to be leaking there too, could that be of any relevance?
could by chance that be the reason why its leaking from that steering boot?