Honda Oddy PS/Fluid Change

[coopns]

12' Honda Oddy

I have used a turkey baster to remove basic brake and PS fluid on other cars. Was wondering if I should giver' a go on the Oddy.

Would you recommend using Honda fluid for both? I don't mind, just wondering. I'm only a year in and 17 k or so but just trying to keep on top of things since they were so easy to do on other cars. (Note: I did post on the Honda Ody site but little response...was hoping for a more detailed BITOG type response)

Please advise.

 

[Quest]

for PS fluid: I'd always go with Genuine Honda PS fluid. Brake fluid IMHO doesn't matter.

I use whatever I have (fresh, uncontaminated) onhand.

Q.

 

[coopns]

Good.

And would you say I'm ok with the fluid changes at this point (1 year/17k)...certainly wouldn't hurt I guess...just some basic maintenance.

 

[Quest]

PS fluid: 1 yr/17k is IMHO too soon, but then again: no harm done even if you do it once a year (bubbles are harmless an can be purged easily on PS systems).

Brake fluid: I typically purge the system every 3 yrs (with fluid change)...high ambient moisture area may require lowering the interval to 2 yrs (e.g. Hong Kong, Thailand, etc.)

and be ever mindful about improper/poor bleeding (flushing) procedures that may introduce more harm than good (i.e. accidentally introduces air bubbles into the brake hydraulic systems)...

I used to use Mitivac vacuum bleeder in my earlier days (messy, finicky but manage to get some very tricky job done such as sucking/clearing micro air-bubbles from my Mazda B3 and B3 frt calipers), but during my past 6yrs, I've been using Motive bleeder...works much better in my case...

Alternatively, one other trick works very well also (for those whose not good at doing proper brake flushing or fear of accidentally introducing air bubbles due to experience, etc.) is to use fresh clean turkey baster to suck the reservoir's fluid out and then top it off with fresh fluid. Fresh fluid will gradually migrate throughout the rest of your braking systems (might take a few weeks, but it will work) and you just have to repeat the steps a few more times and most of the old fuilds will be displaced by fresh ones.

The only drawback is that rubber dirt (floaters, or "debris" in brake fluid) will not get flushed out from the lower end of the hydraulic braking systems though....but to me that is just cosmetic, and doesn't do any harm to the system at all.

Good luck.

Q.

 

[mclasser]

Stick with genuine Honda PSF. Since your fluid isn't that old yet, I would D&F the PS reservoir twice using a turkey baster with a short drive in-between that involves several turns. After the last D&F, I'd also jack up the front end and turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock ten times or so to bleed out any air in the system.

For the brakes, just changing the fluid in the reservoir won't do much. I personally haven't had good luck with those one man bleeder kits so I end up paying my indy for a brake fluid flush. Brake fluid is nasty stuff and I prefer not handling it.

 

[andyd]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
Stick with genuine Honda PSF. Since your fluid isn't that old yet, I would D&F the PS reservoir twice using a turkey baster with a short drive in-between that involves several turns. After the last D&F, I'd also jack up the front end and turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock ten times or so to bleed out any air in the system.

For the brakes, just changing the fluid in the reservoir won't do much. I personally haven't had good luck with those one man bleeder kits so I end up paying my indy for a brake fluid flush. Brake fluid is nasty stuff and I prefer not handling it.
I use s 2 foot length of clear tubing and a hot sauce bottle wit 2 oz of BF in it. Put the tube on the bleeder, stick the other end into the bottle to create an air lock. Pump the pedal by hand. When the bottle is full, close the bleeder.

The turkey baster thing is next to useless. The cruddiest fluid is in the wheel cylinders. Loaded with water and all sorts of crud. That is the bottom of the system and where the heaviest stuff is.

A flush, just buy a qt of BF. Fill up the reservoir . Pump or just open the bleeder and let it drain . Keep an eye on the resv level. as it drains by gravity. Leave the cap off. You dont want the resv to empty, always keep BF in it. As long as air doesnt get into the ABS pump you're set.

If you can't get a brake system to bleed by either of these method, you 're doing it wrong. Or the system is sucking in air.

 

[Hokiefyd]

I use the genuine fluid in both. It's really not that expensive, and I recall (ha!) that Honda recalled some cars a few years ago due to brake system contamination that they blamed on non-OEM fluid. They claimed that the Honda fluid had extra corrosion inhibitors or something that was more compatible with the internal components.

Is it really? I'll be the first to say that I have no idea, and that's why I use it. It's not very expensive, it's easy to get, and the peace of mind of knowing that there's no experimentation with my brake system is with the extra dollar it might cost for the fluid. I did a complete system flush on our Acura a few years ago, and though the fluid WAS about six years old, it's amazing how firm the pedal felt after the job was done, and fresh fluid was all through the system. It's probably a little early on your Odyssey, but it never hurts to be prepared, right?

 

[bourne]

Turkey baster the P/S fluid.

Leave the brake fluid alone unless you are doing a proper bleed or using a brake fluid exchange machine.

IMHO i.e.

 

[tommygunn]

Does it even need to be changed in the first place? And you most likely don't need to do it so soon, if at all.

If you do though, make sure whatever PSF you use says Honda on it. Note that this fluid doesn't have to come from the dealer; there are a few aftermarket Honda PSF's out there, and you can even get it at Walmart or your favorite auto parts store. Just make sure it says "Honda" on the bottle.

Brake fluid is supposed to be changed every 3 years, independently of the MM. Any DOT 3, 4 , or 5.1 will be fine. I like Wagner Severe Duty, but really anything will work as long as you change it every 3 years. Regular flushing is much more important than what brand you use; even cheap Walmart DOT 3 will be fine.

 

[old1]

Just my 2 cents worth (and that may be overvalued) but In my 55 years of owning cars and pickups, I have yet to ever changed or flushed my brake fluid. If anything needed repairing that required opening the wheel or master cylinder of course it got bled out, so got a bunch of new then. But never on purpose to just flush the system. Of course usually I never keep a vehicle more than 5 or 6 years, but then most of them were 10+ years and over 100000 miles when I bought them. But I am now using a 1980 GMC pickup that I bought nearly 20 years ago, and it has never had the fluid changed except some added when it had a front brake hose go bad. It didn't break just replaced it before it did. (has 165000 on it now)
I am sure that is a terrible NO NO, but it has worked for me, and I am way to old to start doing it different now

 

[Taildragger]

Local Wally World has Acura/Honda power steering fluid.

 

[Rat407]

Applications
AMSOIL Synthetic Universal Power Steering Fluid meets or exceeds motor vehicle specifications for use in GM, Chrysler, Honda, Ford, Volkswagen, Mercedes, Saab, Subaru and Audi applications. Please see the AMSOIL auto and light truck lookup guide for more information pertaining to your specific application.

Ford 9M2C138-CJ, M2C33-F & ESW-M2C128-C&D
Volkswagen TL-VW-570-26 & TL-52146
GM 9985010 Saginaw Power Steering Systems
DaimlerChrysler MS1872 & MS5931F
American Motor Corporation C4124
Navistar TMS 6810
Acura/Honda
Mercedes Benz
Saab
Subaru
Audi

 

[clinebarger]

Originally Posted By: old1
Just my 2 cents worth (and that may be overvalued) but In my 55 years of owning cars and pickups, I have yet to ever changed or flushed my brake fluid. If anything needed repairing that required opening the wheel or master cylinder of course it got bled out, so got a bunch of new then. But never on purpose to just flush the system. Of course usually I never keep a vehicle more than 5 or 6 years, but then most of them were 10+ years and over 100000 miles when I bought them. But I am now using a 1980 GMC pickup that I bought nearly 20 years ago, and it has never had the fluid changed except some added when it had a front brake hose go bad. It didn't break just replaced it before it did. (has 165000 on it now)
I am sure that is a terrible NO NO, but it has worked for me, and I am way to old to start doing it different now


The problem is Brake Fluid is Hygroscopic, It absorbs moisture...Moisture lowers the boiling point of the fluid & causes corrosion of steel & cast parts in the system. This may only become apparent under severe conditions(like towing) & the pedal goes the floor because the water in the brake fluid is boiling.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Taildragger
Local Wally World has Acura/Honda power steering fluid.


You could use that, but the Genuine Honda ones are suppose to be synthetic blend and has lower viscosity at cold weather, and are only a couple bucks more than Walmart's generic (i.e. $3 vs $4.50) for 12oz. I used only 2 bottles to flush my Integra so I'd pay $3 more for better quality.

 

[mclasser]

Originally Posted By: PandaBear
You could use that, but the Genuine Honda ones are suppose to be synthetic blend and has lower viscosity at cold weather, and are only a couple bucks more than Walmart's generic (i.e. $3 vs $4.50) for 12oz. I used only 2 bottles to flush my Integra so I'd pay $3 more for better quality.


+1 Honda PSF really is good stuff and the extra $1.50 eliminates possible issues the generic stuff may cause.

 

[Trav]

Very easy to change PS on these.
Remove the belt from the pump, remove the upper hose from the reservoir and put it into a container.
Turn the pump over (check the direction before removing the belt) with a cordless drill and a socket on slow, stop when the reservoir is low, refill, repeat till it runs clean.
Put the belt back on.

15min job once you have done it. This changes all the fluid including the rack, use only OEM fluid.

Change the brake fluid every 2 years regardless of mileage, just gravity bleed the calipers while keeping the reservoir full. No special tools or mess.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Trav, this seems much better than the process in the service manual. How much PSF should one have on hand to do it this way?

 

[Trav]

I keep a small stash of Honda PS fluid and coolant on hand so i don't buy on a per vehicle basis. IIRC if you get 3 small bottles you will have almost a bottle left over.

 

[yesthatsteve]

Great. Thanks!

 

[Vikas]

That is a great idea! Is belt removal straight forward? Odyssey has separate power steering belt.