TurboBumblBee

how can you tell if your power steering rack is going bad?? i have a 94 si hatch with 140k miles on the sheel, w/ a b18c and never had a power steering pump so i never hooked it back up.. now i just got an alignment from a friend of mine and he did a good job but for some reason when im driving it feels as if the car pulls BOTH ways on a straight road like the steering wheel is lose and has a lotta play.. tires have been balanced and rotated as well... any ideas what the hell is wrong with my car??

gezer

i dont get it sorry. Do u have power steering now, and you didnt have it before. Or is it the other way around?

MrIllegalX

did you hit a curb or get into an accident latley? It could be bent. A rack doesn't usually go bad as far as I know, but I could be wrong. You got a 4-wheel alignment right?

gezer

maybe they really messed up when they alligned your stuff!

hatchdrvr

Try checking your outer tie rods for play, they can go bad and cause slack in the wheel

TurboBumblBee

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hatchdrvr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Try checking your outer tie rods for play, they can go bad and cause slack in the wheel</TD></TR></TABLE>

he said that one of them was going bad.. but thing is it didnt do this before the alignment was done, i dont understand why.. how hard is it replace the outer tie rods? ive never done that but i have put motors back together and swapped them into cars and while im doing the outer tie rods should i do the inner tie rods as well?? i need to get this fixed.. thanks

TurboBumblBee

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by gezer &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">i dont get it sorry. Do u have power steering now, and you didnt have it before. Or is it the other way around?</TD></TR></TABLE>

the car is equiped with a power steering rack but i do not have the power steering pump on now so its basically a manual rack, also i dont have the lines looped or anything cause i jsut got it running and havent had time to do it..

TurboBumblBee

TTT

anyone know what will cause this? its seems to be very unsafe so i find myself driving very slow and sane lately..

EH339

My power steering still works fine, my car is solid on the road. Last week I noticed that one of the boots on the rack was torn and immediately had it replaced. So check those upper rubber boots. I feel really lucky as I only used to look at my CV boots while my car was on the lift for oil changes.

NaughtyKnight666

The car pulling both ways is a sign of the powersteering rack going bad. you usally only notince when the powersteering is hooked up but i guess it could happen with it all taken off.

TurboBumblBee

noticed today going to work that if im in 3rd gear going about 60mph and give it gas the wheel will turn and the car will move whatever way it wants, when it does it it makes the wheel look like it need an alignment.. i want to diagnose the problem soon so i can get it fixed.. i should be able to get it up on a lift today or tomorrow.. how much do steering racks go for? i would probably just get a manual rack cause it would be cheaper and i would not be utilizing the power steering neways now..

AeMpwRd eX

maybe its that bolt we found loose

TurboBumblBee

yea we got to check that out.. im also go to replace the outter tie rods..

FlatlineEF9

on my 90 hatch the same thing happened. the steering felt loose and unsafe. also i felt vibrations while just driving straight. im just gonna change my whole rack and pinion and tie rod ends. when i jacked the car up, i noticed the driver side tie rod end was way too loose. i would recommend replacing the tie rod end and the rack and pinion and the bushings too (if yours is as bad as mine)

MrIllegalX

where would you go to get the rack and pinion? I havn't found many places that sell it.

FlatlineEF9

i think nopi sells it. imma just go to the dealer. O_o

97civicdx

Honda dealers sell reman's.

RainWater

Are they hard to replace? Whats required?

CXHatchback

Yeah, def. replace those outer tie rod ends. They're cheap and really easy to replace. Although you'll probably need another alignment afterwards. I did a write-up with pics on here and it's been bumped recently so you can search and find out how if you want.

MrIllegalX

I'm about to replace my rack/pinion/rod ends within a few weeks. I'll let you know what's required and how much it cost. $380 just for the rack is the cheapest I've found online so far.