Wrenchin... Adventures under the hood... Put em here.

[Thaleia]

My sister's 2005 Honda Accord has been sitting unused for three weeks. I had to move it today and it has no power steering.

Reservoir is full, was going to check the fuse but there aren't any named anything close to power steering.

Super dumb question - since it worked fine when it was park a few weeks ago, is there any chance it just needs to 'warm up' to come back to life?

[gravitylover]

My approach is probably wrong but, I'd let the car run for a minute, then with the cap off the reservoir slowly start moving the wheel back and forth. As it loosens up the bubble that (I think) is in there should come up.

[fatnslow]

That's a belt driven is pump. Check to see lost the belt , slippage or have a flat tire. Check all the obvious things first.

[Thaleia]

Hey thanks guys. I'm an idiot. Have a laugh at my expense - when I checked the reservoir I was looking at the brake fluid reservoir..

I'd blame the fact that I was exhausted at the time but yeah, that's pretty dumb.

Power steering reservoir is in fact empty, and there's a big puddle of fluid where it was parked temporarily.

She'll have to get it to a garage, I am clearly too out of practice to take this on myself.

[gravitylover]

Hey thanks guys. I'm an idiot. Have a laugh at my expense - when I checked the reservoir I was looking at the brake fluid reservoir..

I'd blame the fact that I was exhausted at the time but yeah, that's pretty dumb.

Power steering reservoir is in fact empty, and there's a big puddle of fluid where it was parked temporarily.

She'll have to get it to a garage, I am clearly too out of practice to take this on myself.

Heh, you'd think that after having a couple of Dodges and a Range Rover I'd say to look for a leak first. lol

[Thaleia]

The thing I really don't get is - as soon as I started it I noticed there was no steering, yet it leaked more in the temporary spot than it did where it sat for three weeks.

[El Chupacabra]

The thing I really don't get is - as soon as I started it I noticed there was no steering, yet it leaked more in the temporary spot than it did where it sat for three weeks.

My guess is hose leaked, it spewed out once you pressurized it by starting the engine.

I'd buy a couple bottles of power steering fluid to keep pouring it in until you get it to the shop. Running the pump dry for any length of time might be bad.

[Thaleia]

Ok, makes sense. And thanks for the tips but I'm done with this.

I don't want to sound like a dick but I'm trying to set some boundaries with her - this will be on her to get fixed so she'll have it towed to her mechanic.

[evdog]

I mentioned before my mechanic upped his rate from 85 to 175/hr so I've been doing more stuff myself. He recommended transfer case and front and rear diff service at about $220 each.

Pretty easy job except for filling the front diff. Not much room under the front end to work. For that one I tried a gravity fill using a plastic hose over the nozzle of the gear oil bottle which i held up above the fill port. Despite being secured with a zip tie the hose popped off spewing gear oil everywhere.

Then, cleaning up, the used oil wanted to pour down the side of the pan rather than into the empty bottles. What a mess.

The amusing part - how much hardened mud was caked in under the front end of the truck. I got into a mud pit last winter that I almost didn't make it out of. Below is the flimsy oem skid plate.








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[Name Redacted]

A few tips:
Simple green helps clean up oil very easily.
Cheap harbor freight creeper is super nice for this stuff.

Use one of these, then just take it to your buddy's garage to dump it.

[El Chupacabra]

What he said, plus: cheap clay based cat litter is a great oil absorbant to get oil out of concrete. Wipe up everything you can, then sprinkle cat litter and crush it in with your foot. Leave it for a couple of days before sweeping up. It'll suck all the oil out of the concrete.

[east or bust]

Had a strange experience last night in the '98 Tahoe. Go to make left hand turn onto the main drag in town and while I was watching traffic to my left, a car trying to turn left from the right snuck into my A pillar blind spot. I get on the gas to turn and notice the car so slam on the brakes, then they flash me through. On the remaining 2 miles to get home the car has barely any power when stepping on the pedal.

This morning I go to start it and it barely started up. Turned it off after about 30 seconds and let it sit for a few minutes then tried again. This time it started fine but died at idle after a minute or so.

Electrical is strong everywhere, but don't hear any sound from the fuel pump, so it seemed like a fuel supply issue. Checked my fuses and the fuel pump relay first. The relay clicks so I assume the pump is getting power. I then replaced the fuel filter as it is the cheapest and easier thing to do. Still no dice.

My next thought is the fuel pump itself. That seem logical? It's just weird to me that a sudden, jerky stop is what caused this issue.

[Norseman]

Blow a vac line off the brake booster?

[east or bust]

Took a look around and didn't see any errant hoses.

Just worked through this video...




Consensus: Have power/ground where I should. When I jumped the relay the pump never turned on so thinking that's it.

[skiballs]

CVT trans pan drop and filter change.
Pain in the ass, but $75 vs $450 at a shop.
3 hours total, cuz I’m slow and it takes half an hour to find the right size socket, in the disorganized tool box of sockets.


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[Name Redacted]

CVT trans pan drop and filter change.
Pain in the ass, but $75 vs $450 at a shop.
3 hours total, cuz I’m slow and it takes half an hour to find the right size socket, in the disorganized tool box of sockets.


Sent from my iPhone using TGR Forums

I work with sockets every day (and two other employees) I just buy new organized socket sets periodically. It is dumb, but efficient.

[Thaleia]

Ok, makes sense. And thanks for the tips but I'm done with this.

I don't want to sound like a dick but I'm trying to set some boundaries with her - this will be on her to get fixed so she'll have it towed to her mechanic.

So yeah I've volunteered to get this sorted while she's away travelling. Go me lol!

[Touring_Sedan]

I can't remember the last time an automotive project took the amount of time I anticipated. I think I actually finished ahead of time. I forgot how easy this thing is to work on.

[El Chupacabra]

I can't remember the last time an automotive project took the amount of time I anticipated. I think I actually finished ahead of time. I forgot how easy this thing is to work on.

That is a Jeep 4.0 inline six, IIRC 1999 or newer with that distributor. What's it in, and what was the project?

[Touring_Sedan]

That is a Jeep 4.0 inline six, IIRC 1999 or newer with that distributor. What's it in, and what was the project?

'05 Wrangler TJ, Just doing the 60K service. Plugs and PCV.

Adding to the collection.

[Falcon3]

I mentioned before my mechanic upped his rate from 85 to 175/hr so I've been doing more stuff myself. He recommended transfer case and front and rear diff service at about $220 each.

Pretty easy job except for filling the front diff. Not much room under the front end to work. For that one I tried a gravity fill using a plastic hose over the nozzle of the gear oil bottle which i held up above the fill port. Despite being secured with a zip tie the hose popped off spewing gear oil everywhere.

Then, cleaning up, the used oil wanted to pour down the side of the pan rather than into the empty bottles. What a mess.

The Valvoline gear oil comes in pouches which is soooo much easier to work with than bottles. No need for tubing or hoses, just squeeze it in there.

[El Chupacabra]

'05 Wrangler TJ, Just doing the 60K service. Plugs and PCV.

Adding to the collection.

That's quite a collection of registration stickers.

[Cisco Kid]

No rain in the future so about time I did some work on top of the hood. Decided to practice on the cowel first. Not a bad match and orange peel is smoother than an old mans ass.

[evdog]

The Valvoline gear oil comes in pouches which is soooo much easier to work with than bottles. No need for tubing or hoses, just squeeze it in there.

Yup. Bottles worked great for the rear diff and transfer case.

I bought 2 pouches for the front diff. But the fill plug is in a tight spot in the wheel well and that area up front on the truck does not have much room for me to get under it. So I'd have to be lying there with the squeeze pouch directly above my face hoping a bunch didn't leak out.

[warthog]

No rain in the future so about time I did some work on top of the hood. Decided to practice on the cowel first. Not a bad match and orange peel is smoother than an old mans ass.

Single stage or base/clear?
If base clear, just go to town with 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 grit and then compound and polish. Super easy with a good block, and really satisfying.
I am working the hood now on the Bronco, but I did the rear tailgate first. Came out great- even the bug dents are mostly gone too.
Before-


During-


Done-




Color match came out OK. Napa mixed it a little wrong and it is a little darker than the original. Only I notice it though, and only in shade. In the sun it looks perfect.