I suspect my son's 1998 Civic LX has a power steering gear box problem. A month or so ago he noticed that the fluid level was low. He topped it off and kept driving and didn't notice any further loss of fluid. When he drove down to LA from Sacramento I was able to look at it. The boots are soaked in oil/fluid and the end of each boot where the clamp is, is not connected to the boot.

I did a thorough change with genuine Honda PSF and the old stuff was pretty dirty. He's gone back north and so far he hasn't noticed any fluid loss. The PS system doesn't make any unusual noises (except at lock out in both directions) and functions well.

At this point what should we do? Wait until things get worse? Replace the PS gear box ASAP? is there an aftermarket rack that works well?

Thanks.

 

Old post... but for anyone else having an obvious loss of power steering fluid it is probably the pump or rack leaking.... but check for hose leak too. If you do not want to fix it right away, there is a very very good temporary stop leak fluid that you can buy. i have used it on a few cars in the past including recently on my daughters civic. It is called Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak. Autozone and Walmart sell it. Not sure if walmart has the big bottle or not. I find it best to wait until your power steering fluid plastic reservoir is almost empty and then top it off (up to the MAX line) with Lucas. You want a little regular HONDA power steering fluid in the system but not much. You may have to top off 1 other time in a few days or weeks, BUT after that I find it usually last for about 6 months and then you can just add again. Old post, but maybe someone else has same problem.
Here is Lucas link

Lucas Oil/Power steering stop leak 10011 - Read Reviews on Lucas Oil #10011

 

Personally I wouldn't use that stuff.. expecially if you live in an area that gets cold. I used lucks to smooth up my rack and pinion and on cold mornings I would start my car up and my pump would make a loud noise for a sec or so. I knew it was the lucas cause my pump never made that noise before. I figured it was the fluid that was to thick on a cold morning. Cause once my car warmed up It didn't do it. I flushed my fluid out and put in fluid fully compatible with honda power steering systems.and that noise on start up went away. No more noise. So just be careful..

 

Of course you ONLY would use Lucas if your power steering fluid was leaking badly! I assume that was not the case with your car since you were able to switch back to regular Honda fluid. When your car is leaking a bottle of Honda fluid every couple of days, you will have no choice but to use Lucas or get your power steering fixed. Also, although I live in the South, I have used Lucas during the winter time in the 30's with no problem. But yes, if you have colder temperatures you may have to warm up your engine before taking off.