How to: Power Steering Fluid Change and Flush

Just did this yesterday. With the right preparations, this is a piece of cake! You owe it to your car to flush the PS fluid...I can feel the difference in smoothness at low speed turning...my fluid had never been flushed!

Required Tools and Items:
1. You'll need at least 3 bottles of the Honda Power steering fluid, 6 bottles if you want to flush the system well!
2. 5/16 diameter clear nylon hose (3' minimum)
3. Black electrical tape
4. Large container (old 4 qt oil container worked well)
5. Small, shallow container (must be at least one pint capacity), I used an old turtle wax container, it was just large enough.
6. Pliers

Procedure:
1. Pull upwards on the PS reservoir...it should pop off the clip.

2. Pull it out of the way, the hoses will bend just fine and place your shallow container directly under the PS reservoir.

3. Carefully compress and remove the clip that holds the smaller of the two hoses to the reservoir body. Keep the end of the hose above the container, carefully remove the hose. Fluid will drain from the reservoir into the small container. Once fluid is fully drained from the container, pull the container up out of the way and carefully remove your full container. Careful not to spill any on the paint! Place a rag under the reservoir to catch any drips and let it back down.

4. Test fit your nylon hose into the small black hose that you just took off the reservoir wrap the end of the hose in electrical tape, just enough to allow a very snug fit and force it back into the hose you took of the reservoir.

5. Run the other end of your nylon hose down through the grill and place it securely in the large container!

6. Make sure the reservoir is not touching the drive belts and start the car (It helps to have an assistant at this point). Turn the steering wheel Right and Left all the way, slowly...keep turning back and forth until fluid stops running out of the hose. Turn off the car.

7. Plug the hose fitting on the reservoir with your thumb, a small cork or rubber plug. Fill the reservoir back up and close the lid. Start the car and continue turning the wheel side to side slowly, this new fluid gets sucked up and flushed through, keep adding fluid as the wheel is being turned to flush out the system well, stop adding fluid when you have 2 containers left! Turn off the car.

8. Remove the nylon hose and reinstall the black hose to the reservoir and put the clip back on. Put the reservoir back on its clip. Fill the reservoir to the upper line with fluid.

9. Start the car and turn the wheel back and forth lock to lock. This bleeds air out of the system (the PS pump may make some strange sounds for a little while as you do this). Add fluid as necessary to bring the level up to the top line. The fluid will look frothy for a while.

That's it!