1996 Accord LX F22B2. I'm working on this car and the pump has a loud whine at idle. I noticed the power steering fluid was "boiling" in the reservoir. The car is not yet drivable so I don't know what is does going down the road. Any thoughts on what the problem might be? I can order a pump from a junkyard but thought I'd check here first. Thanks.

 

You can either buy a rebuild kit for about $20 or pay atleast that much to get a used one. It all depends on if you are somewhat mechanically inclined. Keep in mind if you rebuild that the pulley bolt is reverse threaded.

 

A reservoir doesn't make noise. There's nothing mechanical in it. The PS pump is probably what you are hearing, and maybe you don't have enough PS fluid in there or you have a pinched line causing excessive pressure making it look like it's boiling. Check the hard lines and if they are OK, check the PS fluid level. If both check out OK, then it's your PS pump...the pump likely lost fluid somewhere along the line. You should be careful not to damage the pulley on the pump while removing it.. the replacement pump usually doesn't come with a pulley so saving the old one will save a few dollars. .

 

Thanks for the replies, I came to the conclusion the pump is bad as well. Yes, the reservoir was dry so it was run low on fluid by the prior owner. It was the pump making noise for sure, but I've never seen reservoir fluid percolate. Also, this car sat for 2-3 years as well. Thanks for the heads up on the left handed pulley bolt thread. Have a safe 4th.

 

"Boiling" like that is usually casued by air getting into the system - question is where is it getting in. The pump, o-ring on pressure hose, bad connection on res, ect?