Hi again everyone..

I have a 96 Accord EX... The entire steering system (both hydraulic and links) are in excellent condition with no leaks and no problems in daily use..

The problem I am having is, when I do quick steering transitions while high in the rpm range, the steering seems to go hard for a split second...
Say I was to turn the wheel right and then quickly left while putting down most of the engines power (usually this happens over 5000k rpm in 1st gear) the transition from right back to left will feel VERY hard for about a second. During this time, the vehicle therefore understeers in the right direction until after the "hardness" of the wheel passes..

It is really hard to describe but basically it feels as if the wheel ceases to be hydraulically assisted just for that second until it kicks back in.. Seeing as there is no way i can anticipate that, it can be a little scary sometimes..

Is this normal on these vehicles.. Does the hydaulic system have a low response time in those particular conditions? Is it possible that I am also confusing some sort of traction/tyre issue and assigning the blame to the steering itself?

I wish I could take a video or describe it better than I have but there really is no other way to..

Thanks

 

If your fluid level is good and topped off, sounds like the pump is begining to fail

 

How fast are you going at 5,000 RPM in first gear? The steering does have a speed sensor in the transmission, which pulls back some power assist

 

Hmm, id say ususally around 30mph or so..
The behavior only happens on quick steering transitions while putting down power..
I can remember it happening maybe once or twice on the old tyres as well so I don't think the rubber is to blame but I cant rule it out entirely..

Of course, another option which I didn't consider is not that the pump is failing, but that the quick directional change causes the power steering fluid in the reservoir to move around that quickly that the high pressure line has problems picking it up as it normally would, leading to the momentary lack of power steering?
If this is the case, is there any risk to filling the power steering just above the maximum mark?

I wish I had access to a track or big carpark where i could fool around with the car and figure it out...

 

Lol there always a wallmart parking lot jk but what type of suspension u using

 

well.. I'm located in the Caribbean so walmart isn't an option for me..

If I try hard enough I can possibly find a place to do it, but it will be a lot of work and driving just to mess around with the car...

Running energy suspension polyurethane bushings, toikico HP shocks, oem springs, oem sway bars (27mm front, 15mm rear)..

 

I am having this EXACT issue.
Put my car into storage, it was fine before I stored it. Sat for a year, I take it out and now I have this symptom.
It's a CRX so I rebuilt the ENTIRE front suspension with Honda parts, everything is new.

Maybe it's a bad intermediate shaft bearing from sitting and starting to get some rust on it? I'm clueless.

 

In my case it was because I was cornering so hard that the fluid would slosh all to one side of the res bottle so it couldnt get pulled into the hose. Ridiculous I know, but I used to go HARD with that car. Only happened to me when cornering hard.

Doubt its intermediate shaft related, steering and drive are two different things. What exactly are you experiencing?