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Rack and pinion seal. Easy replace?

Yota Up

Dull man
Joined
May 20, 2020
Member Number
648
Messages
1,616
Never touched rack and pinion in my life and am not even sure I'm asking my question right so bear with me. :homer:
Does the rack have to be removed in order to replace a seal or can I pull the tie rod and get to it while laying under the car?
7th generation Honda accord, passenger side seal.

Also, I'm not used to companies claiming "guaranteed to seal your leak", but here it is. Anyone try this Blue Devil stuff and have it work?
"Adding BlueDevil Power Steering Stop Leak to your power steering reservoir today will start to seal your power steering leaks immediately and is guaranteed to seal your rack and pinion leak within a few days of driving." - Rack and Pinion Leak – How To Repair It | BlueDevil Products

This is not a small leak, so I would be blown away if some gimmick actually worked.
 
I replaced a rack seal on my truck in position. It’s been over a year without leaking. I had a beater with a leaking rack I tried Lucas stop leak on, didn’t work but it was a massive leak.
 
Bowe said:
I replaced a rack seal on my truck in position.
Click to expand...
That's good to hear.

As far as the leak stuff not working, I guess the guarantee from that company just means you get money back spent on the bottle.
 
Probably better off just putting a rebuilt rack in.

Not familiar with that specific car, but did a DIY rebuild of the rack in my Volvo (98 V70). Generally speaking, there's nothing fancy in a standard hydraulic power assist rack - few parts and seals are basically the same as a hydraulic cylinder. The problem is that it's essentially impossible to find any actual info on how it goes together, so you're basically guessing.

Also need to consider why the seal failed. In mine, the rack was badly pitted in way of the leaking seal - looks like it got water in there at some point, and behaved as expected. Unsurprisingly, the new seal started leaking pretty quickly.
 
Did end seals in dads 06 homda pilot. Probably the same rack
Did not remove it from the car
Used harbor freight specialty tool for the inner tie rods.
Ymmv
 
sdmuleman said:
Probably better off just putting a rebuilt rack in.

Not familiar with that specific car, but did a DIY rebuild of the rack in my Volvo (98 V70). Generally speaking, there's nothing fancy in a standard hydraulic power assist rack - few parts and seals are basically the same as a hydraulic cylinder. The problem is that it's essentially impossible to find any actual info on how it goes together, so you're basically guessing.

Also need to consider why the seal failed.
Click to expand...
300,000+ miles on the clock maybe?
The boot has a crack in it, so dirt got in and then rubbed back and forth wearing the seal?
axjwhlr said:
What year is it? 4cyl or 6cyl? I'll send you the steering rack overhaul instructions. Both recommend removing the rack fyi.
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4 banger. 2003. Much appreciated.
 
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