2000 Civic power steering fluid

no.

of course. but you're better off giving them the money and having them /not/ change it since that way there will be no contamination and no seal problems. honda power steering systems are good for hundreds of thousands of miles unless monkeyed with.

2000 Civic hatch wrote in news:10369a2a-e160-43a9- snipped-for-privacy@h25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com:

YES. YES. Do it. Really. Make sure they use genuine Honda PS fluid. This is imperative.

$45 is a cheap price to make sure your system will remain good and leak-free for many years hence. Ever priced a new pump? A new rack? They're somewhat more than $45, I can assure you.

what is the service interval specified in the honda manual?

Did you see the this as a maintenance item in your service schedule?

Did the dealer say it should be done?

Jeff

jim beam wrote in news:PsSdnQOBnMGhqVvanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

There is no mention of that in the manual. I replace mine anyway.

If replacement was $200 I might think twice before recommending replacement. At $45 it's a no-brainer.

innews:PsSdnQOBnMGhqVvanZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@speakeasy.net:

Thanks for the feedback all, the manual says not needed but the service advisor says YES he'd have it done anyway so you can put me down as a definite maybe (undecided)

"2000 Civic hatch" wrote

Original owner of a 91 Civic here. Before 2004, the most I had done with its PS system is add a little genuine Honda fluid. I never had any problems. I worked on engine drive parts that required the PS pump's removal then and ended up adding a lot more fluid.

I personally do not care if it is "only $45." The Honda newsgroups just do not see reports of the PS system failing unless some yo-yo adds non-Honda PS fluid to it.

If you must do this for peace of mind, I would think you could wait at least a few years more.

i respectfully disagree for the reasons previously cited. the power steering system has very little mechanical load, zero chemical load, and is spectacularly reliable. the only time it has a problem is if the fluid becomes contaminated, and frankly, even if it's a dealer, the only way it /can/ become contaminated is if the junior oil change clown starts messing with it. dirty fingers, dirty rags, dirty funnels, dirty oil containers - no thanks.

oh, forgot to say, that's because the /manufacturer/ knows it's not necessary.

On Feb 29, 12:02 am, jim beam wrote: snip

snip

Tegger's long term result speaks for itself. Power steering fluid, if left unchanged, will darken. It's picking up dirt from somewhere.

Maintenance, however, is pretty simple. Most shops simply use a device to suck fluid out of the reservoir and replace it with fresh fluid. They do nothing more than that. You can do the same (use a turkey baster) just be sure to use OEM power steering fluid. Total cost to you, less than $10. Expect a surprise next Thanksgiving. :-)

"ACAR" wrote

I expect the DIY-ers should be prepared to do a purge of air from the system as well. If there's air in it, one will hear it. I liked and have used the following description to do this air purge:

"Elle" wrote in news:iPTxj.41437$497.24822 @newsfe14.phx:

Not allowing the reservoir to ever get empty would prevent "chocolate milk" and save most of the check-and-topup afterwards, but there's no harm to the system in letting it run dry while you change the fluid.

I have replaced my fluid several times according to the factory manual's procedure, which does not warn against air in the system.

1) Place front wheels on a section of newspaper (I can't get both wheels off the ground at the same time. The newspaper reduces friction.) 2) Drain the reservoir with turkey baster 3) disconnect the return hose and place the free end into a large container 4) start car turn steering wheel lock to lock two or three times, then re-center shut car off 5) reconnect return hose 6) fill reservoir 7) restart car 8) add fluid as necessary 9) add fluid over the next day or so as air is ejected from the system.

All the fluid gets ejected within the first or second lock-to-lock during the drain.

The new fluid will be very chocolate-milky at first because of all the air in it, but that's no problem. The air gets ejected all by itself so long as you keep the reservoir topped up. Eventually the level will stabilize and the fluid will be transparent again. That takes maybe a day.

no they don't. your argument is like saying that because elephants hate cheese, the cheese in my refrigerator is responsible for the fact that my home has never been invaded by them. in reality of course, the fact that there are no elephants in marin county, ca., is responsible - the cheese is a red herring.

seal rubber. any hydraulic system does that. you're not going to change the steering rack because of that are you?

what percentage of the fluid do you think you manage to change like this?

"Tegger" wrote

I think I would caution here to try very hard no to overfill. As I know you know from previous posts (IIRC), the reservoir's contents slosh around a lot when the pump is running. Overfilling even by a little sloshes some of the stuff out. If air is in the system, it will be more likely to be overfilled, at least temporarily, and the chances of sloshing loss are higher.

The FS manual has a strong caution about overfilling as well.

Seems to me I did hear noise at least once briefly when I'd "opened" the PS system and was refilling and purging. Just for the anecdotal, DIYer record.

"Elle" wrote in news:icWxj.49$CD7.8 @newsfe11.phx:

I should check this next time I run the engine.

Fluid ejection into the catch container when draining is not that vigorous, but it may appear differently when discharging into a more confined space.

I've never once had a problem with overfilling. The problem I run into is UNDERfilling, which results when the air exits the fluid, causing its volume to drop. This is why there is need to check and top up as necessary after a fluid change done the shop manual's way.

I add fluid to the reservoir up to the full mark, wait for it to drop, then add more until it doesn't drop any more. Simple.

Mine just says "CAUTION: Do not overfill the reservoir beyond the full mark".

As a contrast, the warning against the wrong fluid reads: "CAUTION: Use only GENUINE HONDA Power Steering Fluid...Using other fluids...will damage the system". Now THAT I"d call a "strong" caution.

Tegger wrote in news:Xns9A53B55DF5A9Dtegger@207.14.116.130:

I just checked for fluid movement today.

When cold at idle, there was no movement of the fluid at all with the engine running.

When hot, at idle or when revved, there was the barest trace of surface rippling. It's the sort of rippling you get on the surface of a cup of coffee when somebody walks past the table it's sitting on.

Certainly there is no trace of sloshing or other vigorous fluid action.

My fluid level is right up to the upper mark on the side of the reservoir.

I'm not going to try overfilling the reservoir, of course, but I'm left wondering how high you'd have to overfill it before you ended up with sloshing.

"Tegger" wrote

We observe different things then for properly filled reservoirs. I am not trying to be, ya know, combative. Just saying what my observation is for the archives.

"Elle" wrote in news:8RZyj.34569$kp6.6251 @newsfe07.phx:

All I can tell is what I saw with my own eyes today.

I can make a video of it, if you like.

Hey Tegger, no video necessary :-). I certainly believe you observed no sloshing. Something's different--maybe something with the cars--in our experiences, that's all. I thought I saw other reports here over the years reporting on the sloshing. But it's not important enough to me to google on.

"Tegger" wrote