In this episode of Inside the Brands, CRP’s David Hirschhorn discusses another “better than OE” part from the steering specialists at AAE.

Believe it or not, OE parts aren’t always the best you can buy — especially when the original design has a flaw that compromises its functionality, durability, or longevity. The hydraulic power steering pump that Honda used in a number of models between 2003 and 2012 is a good example.

In this pump, the OE valve exposes the valve guide walls to excessive wear, causing blow-by in-between the valve guide walls and the valve. This leads to low pressure and poor performance.

So when we were developing a new AAE-brand replacement part, we changed the valve design to provide more surface area and better contact between the valve and valve guide walls — reducing wear.

Part #: 5760N

Additionally, we pre-installed the return pipe — with a special O-ring that is temperature resistant, which should help eliminate air leaks and the noise problem the OE pump is known for.

All of these improvements should help reduce comebacks. Just another way that AAE tries to make the lives of the repair technicians who use our parts easier.