[johnB]

My 99 Ody with 190K miles has had the boot on the right (passenger) side of the power steering rack disconnected at the rack housing end for a good while. I think this might have been the result of a leak in the seal at that end. Besides that the PS still works great. So rather than remove and replace the entire rack, I was thinking about trying to simply replace the end seal on the right side in place. Has anyone attempted this?
TIA

 

[johnB]

My 99 Ody with 190K miles has had the rubber boot on the right (passenger) side of the power steering rack disconnected at the rack housing end for a good while. I think this might have been the result of a leak in the shaft seal at that end. Besides that the PS still works great. So rather than remove and replace the entire rack, I was thinking about trying to simply replace the end seal on the right side in place. Has anyone attempted this?
TIA

 

[shall36]

I don't think it's that easy. There's an end seal and a bushing with an o-ring. There's also a piston with a Teflon seal. I suppose it depends on which seal has gone bad. You might be able to get the end seal off, but I wouldn't remove the bushing unless you plan to remove the entire rack assembly. Once you do, it takes a special jig to get it back in. Majestic Honda shows the seal kit for $22.80. Rock Auto shows a complete unit from $350.

I have no idea if you can get the end seal out and in with the rack in the car.

You could try some stop leak additive, but opinions vary on whether or not that stop does more harm than good.

 

[Dropout]

Is there a leak? Your post isn't clear.

If not, just make sure everything is clean, put the boot back and fasten it with a plastic zip tie.

 

[johnB]

Your question is a good one. There has been some dripping in that area but it has been hard to identify for certain. Initially I thought it might be from the main crank seal. You would think that if it was a PS leak, I could tell from low PS fluid, but this has not been conclusive either.

I did reconnect the boot once using a plastic tie, but it didn't stay in place. But certainly doing what you say is the simplest course of action.

I figured if I took it apart I could also change the boot out for a new one, which would be more flexible and maybe stay in place better.

I am also going to look for a better clamp for the boot that I can tighten down more securely.

However, I am still looking for advice from anyone who has attempted a partial rebuild of just the seals on the passenger/leflt side of the rack while leaving it in place.

 

[Dropout]

If the boot is pulling off, check to make sure that the opposite end of the boot is in the correct location.

It could also be due to an aftermarket boot. Sometimes they are a little shorter than OEM.

In a previous life I owned a company that remanufactured rank and pinion gears and have personally done over 1,000 Honda units. While it's easy to reseal the rack, I wouldn't attempt it in the vehicle.

Note that there will always be slight sweating of the seals. No matter how smooth the rack shaft seems, there are still small crevices that drag oil outside of the seal. This is necessary to keep the seal lip lubricated. If the shaft is too smooth the seal lip can burn.

If there is only a trace of fluid, I would re-scure the boot and keep checking the PS fluid level.

 

[johnB]

shall36,
Thanks for your response and my bad I didn't see it before I responded to the other poster.

Yes, if it is indeed leaking from the left end, then the two seals in question are the shaft seal, which you identify as made of teflon which would make sense, and the rubber o-ring that seals between the bushing and the housing. My manual shows a special jig to insert the shaft seal into the bushing, but that is a bench job once the bushing is out. I don't see any jig needed to insert the bushing over the shaft and into the housing.

It could be that the real challenge would be to get the bushing OUT without first removing the gear assembly to free up the shaft movement.

I would be curious if anyone has actually tried this and has gotten the bushing out without removing the rack from the vehicle.

 

[johnB]

Posters, sorry for my confusion.

I had originally mistakenly started this thread on the 05+ Odyssey forum, and tried to delete it. I thought that had been successful, but apparently not.

I started the thread again in the 99-04 forum. Please direct any further responses to the thread on that forum.

My apologies for the confusion.

 

[johnB]

Dropout,

Thank you for sharing your expert advice. If you wouldn't attempt it in the vehicle with your experience then I certainly will not.

The boot is the original, i.e. 11 years old. I will check that it's attachment point on the outboard end is correct. Besides that I will just follow your original advice, with maybe a better clamp if I can find something suitable.

 

[dvpatel]

Posters, sorry for my confusion.

I had originally mistakenly started this thread on the 05+ Odyssey forum, and tried to delete it. I thought that had been successful, but apparently not.

I started the thread again in the 99-04 forum. Please direct any further responses to the thread on that forum.

My apologies for the confusion.

Merged the two threads.

 

[Dropout]

I don't think it's that easy. There's an end seal and a bushing with an o-ring. There's also a piston with a Teflon seal. I suppose it depends on which seal has gone bad. You might be able to get the end seal off, but I wouldn't remove the bushing unless you plan to remove the entire rack assembly. Once you do, it takes a special jig to get it back in. Majestic Honda shows the seal kit for $22.80. Rock Auto shows a complete unit from $350.

I have no idea if you can get the end seal out and in with the rack in the car.

You could try some stop leak additive, but opinions vary on whether or not that stop does more harm than good.

If you were to reseal this unit, you would not touch the teflon seal on the rack piston. I'd have to see an exploded view of one of theses racks (it's been 8 years since I've seen one and there are many different Honda racks) but if it's what I think it is, replacing the seals is dead easy and requires no special tools.