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power steering pipe replacement how to

noely02

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1.8 vtec sport
this guide is for changing the cooler pipe that runs in front of the radiator, and will be a mix of what should happen, and what happened when i did mine.

where i haven't taken pictures myself i have used pictures freely available on google

unfortunately to change the pipe you need to remove the front bumper to get access to the pipe, 1 end is easy to get to under the bonnet, but the other end is hidden behind the bumper.

Tools:
small flat blade screwdriver
empty coke bottle
socket set with 8mm – 12mm sockets
pliers
turkey baster
rags
honda power steering fluid

Step 1 – drain old power steering fluid
there are many methods on the internet on how to do this, this is what id did.
Remove as much of the fluid out of the reservoir as you can, turkey baster worked for me.
Remove the return line the upper hose on the reservoir then put the line into a narrow neck bottle like a coke bottle.
turn engine on then turn the steering wheel from side to side to get the remaining fluid out of the system , when the system is getting empty the power steering pump will start to clatter.
Even though i did this, later on when i removed the cooler pipe there was still some fluid in it.
the fluid that came out of mine was black, guess its very old or been overworked.

Step 2 – bumper removal
locate and remove the bolts in the front of the wheel well on either side of the car, they should be 8mm socket size but mine were 8mm and 10mm, guess someone had removed them before and lost one or something!
1_zps20aeb0e3.jpg

Locate and remove the bolts on the bottom corners of the bumper and remove them, these should also be 8mm
3_zps2f84a460.jpg

be warned, these bolts get covered in all the ***** off the road and will likely be jammed, i broke 2 trying to remove mine, the 2 i didn't break i wire brushed and wd40'd to death so i could use them again without fear of them breaking in the future.
locate the plastic push pins along the bottom of the bumper, using the small flat blade screwdriver pop the heads off and remove the pins.
On mine there was 1 pin and a few cable ties....
4_zpsd02686ab.jpg

locate and remove the plastic push pins on the top of the bumper, on my 1.8 vtec sport there are 3, but there may be more on other models.
the bumper should now just pull off, on my car there are fog lights in the bumper so i pulled the bumper forward a little then disconnected the wires from the lights then removed the bumper completely.

Step 3 – pipe removal
follow the lower pipe from the reservoir to where it joins to the metal pipe, undo the pipe clip and seperate the pipes
pipe_zpsaa810e56.jpg

from behind the bumper on the right hand side the cooler pipe is connected to a flexible hose, remove the clip and seperate the pipes, be carefull there might be some fluid left in the pipe.
The cooler pipe is now attached to the car by bolts, 1 in the middle of the cooler and one to the right hand side, remove the bolts, you now should be able to remove the cooler pipe.

Step 4 – replace pipe or bypass
you can now attach your replacement pipe, or if you wanted, replace the metal pipe with a length of suitable flexible pipe.
I got a local company to make me a pipe of roughly the same shape for me.

Step 6 – re ***emble
in true haynes manual style.....***embly is the reverse of disassembly

Step 7 – re fill with fluid
this is the method i used, not sure if its the correct one, but it worked
ensuring all the pipes have been reconnected, fill the reservoir ¾ full of fluid, then start the engine and let it run for a few seconds and stop the engine, check the level in the reservoir and refill to the top mark.
Start the engine and turn the steering lock to lock a few times, the pump might squeal a bit at first, stop the engine and recheck the fluid level, top up if requred

job done!

Any questions please ask i will try to help
 
Can mod move this to the DIY section please, so it can be easily found?
 
Nice write-up. Rep point your way mate. ;)
 
Found this thread thanks to Google. Really appreciate the description on how to do this yourself.

I know it's a long time ago, but we're not that far apart (I live in East Sussex myself).

Where did you go to get that pipe made ?

And did that work okay for you ? (these pipes are quite expensive from Honda direct)

Many thanks.
 
This thread is over seven years old mate so I doubt you'l get a response. You could just cut out the corroded section and replace it with a section of power steering hose and double clip it each end. As a member says in the thread below if we lived in a hotter country it might be a problem. I used an after market oil cooler kit both outlined in the thread below.


Ah, just realised this is for 6th gen. It might all still apply, don't know.
 
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This thread is over seven years old mate so I doubt you'l get a response. You could just cut out the corroded section and replace it with a section of power steering hose and double clip it each end. As a member says in the thread below if we lived in a hotter country it might be a problem. I used an after market oil cooler kit both outlined in the thread below.


Ah, just realised this is for 6th gen. It might all still apply, don't know.


Cheers mate,

Normally I'd have taken my car to a garage for this fix, but with the current situation that we're in with this pandemic, I have to do it myself from home (very little tools, no garage) and didn't really have much choice but to buy the part from Honda.....
 
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Happy to report I changed over the Power Steering cooler pipe yesterday and my 2002 Honda Accord 2.0 EX is once more back on the road :)

I cannot stop extolling the virtues of this car - I'll have owned it for 10 years in October and that cooler pipe replacement is the first DIY I've ever done on the car. Feel pretty proud and chuffed.

Thanks to Noely02 for the photos and step by step instructions.

Interestingly, Step 2, Bumper removal, each of the bumper-to-wing bolts on either side of the car were also of different sizes, 8 & 10mm. I wonder why !

Many thanks.
 
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