Power Steering Pump Failure or a Leak?

[CDsDontBurn]

I think you mean the number 15 o ring, replace that either way, should come with a remanufactured ps pump. The other points you will want to check is the feed hose and return hose camps from the resviour. The clamps usually wear and have seepage, if leaking replace with screw clamps. Not sure if you are in the salt belt but next would be the metal lines especially where they bolt to the p/s rack. If it is really leaking bad to where you are adding fluid alot than chances are one or both the seals are shot on the ps rack. Check both boots on the rack, if no obvious fluid than pull back the small clamp(close to the outer tierod) and pull the boot back, if soaked with fluid inside than you will need a new rack. Not much too the ps system so either pump, resviour hoses, high pressure line from pump to rack, or metal lines attached to rack, or rack itself. Let me know if you need anything else and good to see someone diagnose a problem rather than throw parts at it.

I replaced the high pressure hose like 2yrs ago like I said earlier in the thread. That was easy to find as the leak occurred where the hardline crimps the soft line at the top of the engine. Replacing the high pressure line though, man, what a PITA!

And no, I'm not in the rust belt. I'm in SoCal. Wonderful weather just about everyday of the year. Mainly, I choose to go to snow, snow doesn't come to me.

Biggest problem with a line leak, is that it'll be down low on the frame work, and WILL spray the rack making finding a leak even harder. If you can spray that area behind the engine and the rack at a car wash, then look for fresh fluid. When my hi pressure line sprung a leak, it was hard to find (sprayed everything down back there), It wasn't until I had the line out that I found the leak. This was versus the low pressure line leak (it was obvious), that was a rust hole near the fitting on the rack.

As far as I can tell, the leak is likely to be at the accessory belt area as the leak seems to be dripping from there primarily. For all I know, all the seals inside the PS pump itself are just done and the PS pump IS the source of my leak.

Anyway, I'm curious to know what size hose I need for the process of evacuating old fluid from the PS system itself. I plan on capping the PS reservoir on the fluid supply side and using an coupling attachment to attach the PS pump out hose into a container to catch all the old fluid before installing the new PS pump. That's my plan, at least.

 

[Rusty Accord]

Anyway, I'm curious to know what size hose I need for the process of evacuating old fluid from the PS system itself. I plan on capping the PS reservoir on the fluid supply side and using an coupling attachment to attach the PS pump out hose into a container to catch all the old fluid before installing the new PS pump. That's my plan, at least.

Use some 3/8ths hose, and disconnect the low pressure side of the oil cooler, and pump it all into a container. If you do it right, whatever is left in the jug will drain out too.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Oil cooler? Where's that at?

 

[Rusty Accord]

Oil cooler? Where's that at?

In front of the radiator support, or behind the bumper. Take your pick.
You'll have to remove the plastic covers under the nose of the car.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

So there's an oil cooler specifically for the PS fluid?

 

[Rusty Accord]

So there's an oil cooler specifically for the PS fluid?

Yes. It's part #17 on the previous page. It's really just a large loop of tubing, but it's a power steering oil cooler.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

I see it! I didn't know that it was a cooler, I just saw it as tubing as it's just a single (bent) tube that wrapped around. So you're saying just unplug the hose (#12) and connect another hose to the other end so it can suck in fresh fluid while the other end dumps old fluid into an empty container.

That is far easier to do, and appears to be much cleaner to do as it will be lower in the PS system.

Whereabouts is this hose (#12) located at so I know where to start looking when I get down there.

 

[Rusty Accord]

I see it! I didn't know that it was a cooler, I just saw it as tubing as it's just a single (bent) tube that wrapped around. So you're saying just unplug the hose (#12) and connect another hose to the other end so it can suck in fresh fluid while the other end dumps old fluid into an empty container.

That is far easier to do, and appears to be much cleaner to do as it will be lower in the PS system.

Whereabouts is this hose (#12) located at so I know where to start looking when I get down there.

Hose #12 is located right under the radiator support (core support). I'd use it as a drain.
I thought you were replacing the pump? If so, drain the system via #12 hose, change the pump, then hook everything back up. Then fill thru the res jug. If you're really anal about it, you'll drain and clean the inside of the res jug too. Mine was pretty black in the bottom.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

Cool. Thanks for the location of the hose. It's raining right now so plans on looking into this are on hold. They say it'll stop raining tomorrow, so I'll inspect then.

Yea, I'm going to drain the system before replacing the pump.

And I'm just as anal as you, LOL. I may go as far replacing the actual jug, haha.

 

[CDsDontBurn]

So I lifted up the car earlier today and took a poke around. I didn't see any active leaking from anywhere at all, but I did notice some fresh PS fluid around the seams of PS pump itself. This would explain why I've been having a slow leak in the PS system. I always thought it may have been a rubber hose or something somewhere, but the only ones there are, are #13, #12, #14, and #4. I didn't see any PS fluid witness marks from any of those areas. The only PS fluid witness marks I see are on the timing belt cover area just plastered with dirt and debris from fluid having been spilling and collecting dirt and debris caking on all over that.

I also had my wife get in the car and go lock-to-lock several times and I noticed that the pump seemed starved for PS fluid at each lock. Not sure if that's normal or a sign of blockage in the PS system or something else. However, this makes me believe the pump is just simply shot.