leaking power steering fluid 92 Honda Civic

[camzie]

i am tired of filling up my power steering reservoir because it is costing
me too much and i do it because i dont not want the power steering pump to
go bad. i have checked a "mechanic" over and over and he cannot diagnose
the source of leaking. Prior to this "now dripping leak" on the drivers
side, the steering rack boots were bad and i bought new ones from the
dealer and replaced them, bcuz the "mech" says that was the problem. Now
that, the boots are in place, more fluid leaks out, particlarly on the
driver side, and also on the passenger side. i also checked under the
reservoir bottle for any seepage,and i found power steering fluid was
seeping on my hand. I REALLY NEED HELP once and for all to fix this
problem. THANKS,Camzie

[TeGGeR®]

Post by camzie
i am tired of filling up my power steering reservoir because it is
costing me too much and i do it because i dont not want the power
steering pump to go bad. i have checked a "mechanic" over and over
and he cannot diagnose the source of leaking.

<snip poorly capitalized gibberish>

You need a better mechanic.

I suspect your tie rods got rusted because you allowed the boots to split,
thus admitting water into them.

Rust and dirt will grind away the hydraulic seals as the shafts work in and
out as you drive. If fluid is leaking near the pump, there are other
problems afoot as well.

Repeat: You need a better mechanic.

[camzie]

thanks guys for assisting me. i really appreciate your comments. iwent to
the dealer to check it out and IT WAS THE SEALS and will let the dealer fix
my car. thanks again for your advice.

[Michael Pardee]

Post by camzie
thanks guys for assisting me. i really appreciate your comments. iwent to
the dealer to check it out and IT WAS THE SEALS and will let the dealer fix
my car. thanks again for your advice.

Glad to see you're on track. (Boots keep the dirt out; seals keep the fluid
in.)

Mike

[Howard]

There's a simple two step process to fix your problem
1. Get a better mechanic
2. Have the new mechanic either resael your rack or replace it with a reman
unit and replace your boots.
Good luck.
Howard

Post by camzie
i am tired of filling up my power steering reservoir because it is costing
me too much and i do it because i dont not want the power steering pump to
go bad. i have checked a "mechanic" over and over and he cannot diagnose
the source of leaking. Prior to this "now dripping leak" on the drivers
side, the steering rack boots were bad and i bought new ones from the
dealer and replaced them, bcuz the "mech" says that was the problem. Now
that, the boots are in place, more fluid leaks out, particlarly on the
driver side, and also on the passenger side. i also checked under the
reservoir bottle for any seepage,and i found power steering fluid was
seeping on my hand. I REALLY NEED HELP once and for all to fix this
problem. THANKS,Camzie

[jim beam]

Post by camzie
i am tired of filling up my power steering reservoir because it is costing
me too much and i do it because i dont not want the power steering pump to
go bad. i have checked a "mechanic" over and over and he cannot diagnose
the source of leaking. Prior to this "now dripping leak" on the drivers
side, the steering rack boots were bad and i bought new ones from the
dealer and replaced them, bcuz the "mech" says that was the problem. Now
that, the boots are in place, more fluid leaks out, particlarly on the
driver side, and also on the passenger side. i also checked under the
reservoir bottle for any seepage,and i found power steering fluid was
seeping on my hand. I REALLY NEED HELP once and for all to fix this
problem. THANKS,Camzie

the boots don't seal, only the rack's internal hydraulic seals seal.
boots just keep crud out & wear rate down.

as mentioned by others, find yourself a competent mechanic and have them
replace the rack. it's not cheap, but it's all you can do at this
point. if you have oil running out of the boots, the rack seals have gone.

also, and this may again be a function of a bad mechanic, honda power
steering requires honda's unique power steering fluid. if your
"mechanic" topped up the reservoir with non-honda fluid, that would have
ruined the seals. honda systems are very reliable and last hundreds of
thousands of miles if not abused.

[Eric]

Post by camzie
i am tired of filling up my power steering reservoir because it is costing
me too much and i do it because i dont not want the power steering pump to
go bad. i have checked a "mechanic" over and over and he cannot diagnose
the source of leaking. Prior to this "now dripping leak" on the drivers
side, the steering rack boots were bad and i bought new ones from the
dealer and replaced them, bcuz the "mech" says that was the problem. Now
that, the boots are in place, more fluid leaks out, particlarly on the
driver side, and also on the passenger side. i also checked under the
reservoir bottle for any seepage,and i found power steering fluid was
seeping on my hand. I REALLY NEED HELP once and for all to fix this
problem. THANKS,Camzie

As others have pointed out, you probably need a new power steering rack.
However, you also need to only use genuine Honda power steering fluid.
Other fluids, such as ATF, will degrade the seals and cause the rack to
leak. If you have non-Honda fluid in your unit, then it's fairly straight
forward to flush it out and put the correct fluid in the system. If a
mechanic put the wrong fluid in it, then bring him four or so bottles of
Honda PSF and have them redo it for you. As far as the leak under the
reservoir is concerned, it may be do to spillage from your putting so much
fluid into it. Alternatively, there could be a leak so carefully check the
condition of all of the hoses.

Eric