Same Civic as in the stuck bolt post, a 2000 EX coupe with 138,000 miles.
Had the PS fluid flushed at about 134k. Everything was normal until about the 137k mark, when the car started making the tell-tale PS pump noise - but only when starting the car after it's been sitting overnight. The noise goes away in anywhere from 2-15 seconds (seems related to temperature and how long the car has been sitting) and the steering works normally after that. The noise does not happen if the car has been driven recently, say while running errands, or even when heading home from work.
I returned it to the shop, where they re-flushed the system, checked it for leaks or loose connections, etc, but could not find anything wrong with it.
It seems to me that there must be air in the system, that for whatever reason collects in the pump and or pump feed line when the car is sitting. So it has to run for a bit to get the fluid circulating everywhere again. That's my theory at least.
Any other theories? I've got a loaner hand vacuum pump, so I'm looking at doing a "vacuum bleed" of the system tomorrow morning. Basically the normal bleed procedure (wheels off the ground, idle the engine while turning the wheel back and forth) but with a vacuum applied to the reservoir.
jeff
Had the PS fluid flushed at about 134k. Everything was normal until about the 137k mark, when the car started making the tell-tale PS pump noise - but only when starting the car after it's been sitting overnight. The noise goes away in anywhere from 2-15 seconds (seems related to temperature and how long the car has been sitting) and the steering works normally after that. The noise does not happen if the car has been driven recently, say while running errands, or even when heading home from work.
I returned it to the shop, where they re-flushed the system, checked it for leaks or loose connections, etc, but could not find anything wrong with it.
It seems to me that there must be air in the system, that for whatever reason collects in the pump and or pump feed line when the car is sitting. So it has to run for a bit to get the fluid circulating everywhere again. That's my theory at least.
Any other theories? I've got a loaner hand vacuum pump, so I'm looking at doing a "vacuum bleed" of the system tomorrow morning. Basically the normal bleed procedure (wheels off the ground, idle the engine while turning the wheel back and forth) but with a vacuum applied to the reservoir.
jeff
