Picked up this Civic recently with non-working power steering. Prior owner had been driving it with PS belt running and reservoir full, but didn't seem to be circulating at all. Had very hard steering. He said pump needed replaced.

Replaced pump and flushed system twice after draining Followed proper flush technique. Refilled with Prestone for Honda fluid. Worked fine for about 2 weeks. Lost no fluid, but now seems to be sitting in reservoir without circulating and back to very hard steering.

Did prior owner driving w/o pump circulating ruin pump and/or rack? Did not using Genuine Honda fluid cause the trouble?

How do I proceed? Any advice is appreciated.

 

From the service manual: