Steering hard to the left and normal to the right.

[Bad_dude]

Hello everyone,
I have the 1990 Accord LX. All of a sudden one day my steering is harder to the left than to the right. It usually hard to turn, just like no power steering at all to the left, when it heats up and at a complete stop or U turn toward the left. If I turn it at a stop a few time then it gets loose and turn like normal. All ball joints and tie rods are checked out ok. I brought it already to the mechanic to flush out the fluids and he said it steers good but then after I get the car, the same problem still there. He thinks it's the rack that needs replacing. So he flush the steering fluid but is there are way to flush the rack itself to see if it could be saved? No leak on the rack at all. What else could be wrong with it? I don't want to pay to replace the rack.
Could we use Seafoam trans tune to clean it out?
Thanks.

[Crankshaft]

Hello everyone,
I have the 1990 Accord LX. All of a sudden one day my steering is harder to the left than to the right. It usually hard to turn, just like no power steering at all to the left, when it heats up and at a complete stop or U turn toward the left. If I turn it at a stop a few time then it gets loose and turn like normal. All ball joints and tie rods are checked out ok. I brought it already to the mechanic to flush out the fluids and he said it steers good but then after I get the car, the same problem still there. He thinks it's the rack that needs replacing. So he flush the steering fluid but is there are way to flush the rack itself to see if it could be saved? No leak on the rack at all. What else could be wrong with it? I don't want to pay to replace the rack.
Could we use Seafoam trans tune to clean it out?
Thanks.

Non aproved fluids on a Honda will cause you to replace more stuff faster than your mechanic's initial diagnostic, Honda steering system uses specific fluid unlike other manufacturers out there.

[Bad_dude]

The left side probably clogged. It happens when it's hot. In the morning it steers fine until the car heated up. Any way to clean it up? The mechanic said he could drain the rack and see if that would help. But how much would replacing the rack cost? Thanks.

[G. Wiffington]

When you say all the tie rods & ball joints check out, do they just seem "okay" or were they ever replaced anytime recent? I just did all my tie rods not too long ago & the difference is amazing. Those inner tie rods seem to really hurt the steering's ability once they're starting to give up. & I still have my original Rack installed, so the Racks themselves seem pretty durable for the most part.
Has it ever had an accident on the driver's front side?

[Fleetw00d]

The left side probably clogged. It happens when it's hot. In the morning it steers fine until the car heated up. Any way to clean it up? The mechanic said he could drain the rack and see if that would help. But how much would replacing the rack cost? Thanks.

What did the mechanic do, just drain the reservoir as best he could and refill it? You can drain a fair amount from the rack by disconnecting the four lines that attach to it. I don't think I'd put SeaFoam in it.

A new rack from AutoZone is in the $150 range. You can still get one from Honda for about $200 (20% discount at my local dealer) that includes new inner tie rods and boots. Both involve trading in your existing rack for a core.

[GTRON]

*manual conversion*

[Bad_dude]

Now a scary thing happens now. I turn the engine on and the steering wheel turn really fast all the way to the right and I cannot turn it back to the left. It seems to lock there. Then I turned the engine off and then with it off try to turn to the left then it's really hard to turn but can be turn. Then it tends to stay hard to the left turn. So is the rack toast? Or is there some sort of steering linkage stuck there? I just had the brake booster and master cylinder replaced. It's also leaking on the bottom. The fluid level is on low but there is still fluid there. The mechanic quote me $350 to replace the rack.

[zedjr10]

Fill the fluid up to where it is suppose to be then try turning your wheel.