Hello fellow CRVians,

I recently changed PS pump because it was making classic squeaky sound. Flushed fluid at the change. It was dark after the change. After driving a 1K miles, I flushed or changed again with 2 Qts. Still it is dark. When I pour the fluid into the reservoir it looks clean and transparent. It turns dark after I turn the wheel end to end. Any suggestions on how to get rid of any junk that may present?

Procedure I changed the fluid:
Suctioned previous PSF. Turned wheel end to end. Suctioned the rest from reservoir. Filled the reservoir till the max mark. Turned wheel end to end. PSF changed from clear/transparent to dark.
Repeated this with 2 Qts of PSF. After the third fill with 3rd Qt, I dont want to mess up the PS pump.

Any suggestions why the PSF is dark after turning the wheel end to end? TIA for all your help!
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What you describe as your flushing procedure is circular. You are returning contaminated fluid to the reservoir.

To eliminate your problem you need to break the circle. I suggest you disconnect the return hose at the reservoir and push the old/dirty fluid out of the system. I heard that 2L soda pop bottles love to receive that old fluid.

The good news is that you have likely replaced enough fluid to restore the functionality to a safe level, just not optimal.

 

Thank you for your reply Ducky. There are 2 hoses at the pump - 1 on the front - guessing this is inlet hose. 2 on the top - guessing this is outlet hose. which one should i disconnect to break the circle? or should i disconnect the hoses at the reservoir and try if that breaks the circle? thank you again.

 

Assuming you have an 09 as in your forum name, you should have 2 hoses connected to your reservoir. The smaller of the two, which should be higher, should be the return hose.

The bottom hose on your reservoir should go to the supply side of the pump. There is a non serviceable filter on the bottom of the reservoir which may indicate the reservoir needs replacement. If that is the case, there is more to the story.

Anyhow, after draining the reservoir, route the return hose to your collection pan/bottle. That may require an extension hose.

With the front wheels off the ground and engine off, turn the wheels stop to stop until you have pushed all the fluid out of the system.

Unfortunately, this should have been done before you ran the new pump. That means that you have contaminated fluid in the pump and high pressure line.

You MAY be able to purge the pump and HP line but that would require a second reservoir return line drain and other thrashing.

 

Yes im working on 09 CRV. I didn't see any filter in the reservoir but will recheck it and replace it if needed. I will follow your steps in few weeks. I will keep you posted. Thanks again Ducky - you been very helpful.

 

Hello Ducky,
I suctioned off entire PS fluid this morning from return hose using fluid extractor. Refilled till the max line. Turned wheel end to end. It still is dark. You think it is the reservoir filter thats causing this? Or something else is happening in the steering system? Thank you.

 

Well a few weeks turned into about 2.5 Months. That likely means you have been driving it under unknown conditions for that period of time.

So, if you had no issues with the steering during that time and considering we are talking about a 16 year old vehicle, I would say that you might want to consider that simply color is not worth the attention.

It sounds like you made an attempt to vacuum the fluid out of the return.

On to the title: At your rate of response you are looking at a resolution billions and billions of years from now. I doubt I will live to see that.

 

Well in that case I can drive it to my target of million mark LOL.
I like to service the vehicle every 5K miles and I usually address all the service issues at that time. Hopefully I can change the reservoir soon and see if that helps.
My usual drive is - highway driving. No steering issues - its just the color of it thats bothering me.
Thanks for your help.

 

I doubt the reservoir is the cause however having the redesigned reservoir filter would not hurt. I suggest you research part numbers before you make that purchase so you get the new model.

 

Alright will check for the P/N. Hypothetically speaking - if the new reservoir does not solve the issue - what would be my next step in diagnosing the issue?