How to clean my power steering reservoir?
The car is a 2005 Honda CRV. I haven't changed the power steering fluid ever because the Honda dealership says that it's a life time sealed system.
The fluid looks filthy and smells kind of burnt. The wheel is stiff to turn and doesn't have a lot of power assistance. After driving I can see bubbles in the reservoir. When I took a look at the return line I noticed that it's been leaking. It looks like it's been doing this for a while as there's dirt/grease caked around the bottom of the reservoir and return line.
So it looks like I'm going to have to change out the fluid and put on a new return line. I would imagine if the fluid is dark brown - black, then the filter inside must be dirty as well. I thought of just buying a new reservoir thinking that it shouldn't be more than 20-30 bucks for a plastic bottle but to my surprise I called the dealer to find that it costs $100. I think that's pretty ridiculous so I was wondering if there's a way to take apart the bottle and clean it?
I thought of just emptying the bottle with a turkey baster, removing the lines and then taking the whole bottle out. Then, wash it out and put some kind of cleaner in there and rinse and repeat.
Then change the return line and replace the o ring where it connects to the pump (they are known to leak). Then just change fluid as normal.
Should I change the other high pressure line as well? I don't see any leaks on it so I figure I don't need to.
The easiest way to change the fluid is to remove the power steering lower hose and then remove the cap off the resivoir. Let all the fluid drain out and then reattach the hose and fill the system to just slightly above the full mark. Put the cap back on and start the engine. Turn the steering wheel slowly all the way to the right and then all the way to the left. Do this around 10 times. Check the fluid level and add as necessary to reach the full mark. Don't worry about cleaning the inside of the resivoir. As long as the fluid is clean you are fine. I would only replace the line that is leaking.
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