carnot

1995 Honda Prelude SE
225k miles on chassis

A couple of weeks ago I was at the drag strip and noticed that at the end of the ¼ mile as I was slowing down my steering wheel began to shake and wobble back and forth at speeds between about 60 mph and 30 mph. My trap speed is about 110 mph and everything is smooth under braking until I get to about 60 mph. I know most people are going to first think warped brake rotors but since then I have checked the runout and pad thickness and everything is well within spec; full brake overhaul about 5k miles ago including new calipers, rotors, and pads. Considering how many miles are on the chassis, I began to suspect something related to the steering system and I had a mechanic friend check it out as well and we determined that the inner tie rods were worn out. The steering was somewhat vague and notchy before so that made me suspicious about the tie rods anyway. I probably could have gotten away with just replacing the inner and outer tie rods, but considering the rack was original I decided to replace the rack as well and save myself some work down the road. I completed the job over the weekend and got an alignment last Monday. The mechanic who performed the alignment didn’t mention any worn components or trouble with the alignment. The toe was a little out of spec from replacing the rack and tie rods but he got everything straight according to the printout. I went on an open interstate and did some high speed brake checks and the wobble that was present before seemed to be resolved. The following weekend I took a road trip and noticed that at highway cruising speeds 60-70mph, there is a slight wobble/vibration felt through the steering wheel. I also noticed that in order to have the car track straight I have to turn the wheel slightly to the left 5-10 degrees. While going straight if I let go of the steering wheel the car wants to drift to the right. I thought the wobble/vibration in the steering wheel at cruising speeds might be from a tire out of balance so I had the wheel balance checked and everything was good.

I am at a loss and would love some input from you all with steering/suspension expertise. I am beginning to wonder if this problem could be from wheel bearings. I don’t hear any noise pointing to wheel bearings and I figure the alignment mechanic would have noticed that. Thanks in advance.

carnot

Update:

I checked the wheel bearing end play and there was none measured with the dial gauge. Starting to think the vibration at highway speed is related to worn out shocks; resonance in the suspension at that speed and not enough dampening and therefore vibration can be felt in steering system? I can't imagine this explaining the slight pull to the right.

mherkamp

Whoever did your alignment didn't get it quite right. If its a good shop you should be able to take it back to them and they should re-align it free of charge. Also, when you replaced the rack, you might not have gotten the steering shaft back in the exact location it came off the old one. The alignment shop will probably compensate with the tie rod ends.
GL
Mike

minilogoguy18

More than likely something as simple as improper tire balance.

gazgaz

this^^^^^

carnot

As mentioned in the OP I thought this as well and had the balance checked and it was fine.

carnot

I have the before and after alignment numbers showing it's within spec after the alignment

Thanks for the feedback.

minilogoguy18

Take the front wheels off and grab every joint and check for any play. One thing people don't think of that can happen is the rubber in the mounts for the rack letting the entire rack move slightly.

carnot

I looked at the rack mount bushings when I put the new rack in and they appeared to be in good shape. Can the problem I am describing be explained by worn out shocks? The vibration at least?

shifty92

i just took my girls lude in for a new rack and tie rods as well. and her shocks are blown and it vibrates as well. at like cruising speeds 30 to about 50. not alot but you can see the steering wheel moving back and forth.

Cannon Man

Similar problem here with new inner/outer tie rods, new-ish Ksports, balanced tires and fresh alignment. I suspect at 250k mine is due to worn anchor bolts and upper balljoints and possibly a fubar'd rack or rack bushings. Please keep us updated if you find and fix the problem