ChalmersP

Hey guys! I stopped by my mechanic a few days ago, and he looked over my V and said my rack and pinion was getting very old (to the point where it whines when I turn) and it should need replacing very soon. that was an 800 dollar option... Is it possible to do this by yourself? Im way more interested in that than spending their labor charges!
Thanks guys!

wes wagon

Whining or screeching sounds more to me like the power steering pump... which is considerably easier/cheaper to replace. Replacing the steering rack will be reasonably difficult and messy... alot time spent under the car and alot of power steering fluid spilled on your driveway.
The best question to guide you might be what is your skill level as a mechanic?

ChalmersP

I was told by my mechanic that the rack and pinion needed replacing because the seals were bad. I didnt get much in depth info on the problem because my dad didnt want to pay for it, which is why im seeing if I can do it myself! When I go under the car, it drips every so often on each of the black arms that are about 1 foot inside of the tire, not sure what theyre called!
Id say im more mechanically inclined than most others, but not a pro mechanic.
Back to the noises im hearing, its not a loud whine like a steering pump... I heard my friends go out, and its a way lower tone than that. You can feel it in the wheel when turning in the mornings when I havent driven lately.

wes wagon

"Is it leaking" would have been my next question! Yeah, if it's dripping, it's time to do something about it. I assume this is a first gen V, since the seals are leaking. You can actually get new seals for a reasonable price from Honda and try to replace them yourself. Of course, for more money you can get a remanufactured steering rack (or a junkyard rack) and replace the whole thing. Either way, you'll be removing it. It's not technically that difficult, just a little messy and a fair amount of work.
Those arms you're talking about are the tie rod ends, BTW. You don't need to be a pro mechanic to do it and would be a good way to get some experience.

02sia2

right there i'm sorry to say but i don't think your mechanically inclined enough for this job i'm not trying to be mean but if you don't know what the inner tie rod boot is which is what your explaining sounds to me then it's like asking i have to remove the whatchamacalit behind the thingymajig

02sia2

Special Tools Required
Ball joint thread protector, 12 mm 07AAF-SDAA100
Ball joint remover, 28 mm 07MAC-SL0A202
Note these items during removal:

Using solvent and a brush, wash any oil and dirt off the valve body unit, its lines, and the end of the gearbox. Blow dry with compressed air.

Be sure to remove the steering wheel before disconnecting the steering joint. Damage to the cable reel can occur.

Raise the front of vehicle, and support it with safety stands in the proper locations.

Remove the front wheels.

Remove the steering wheel.

Remove the driver's dashboard lower cover.

Remove the steering joint bolts, and disconnect the steering joint by moving the steering joint (A) toward the column.

Remove the center guide from the top of the pinion shaft (B) (if equipped), and discard it.

Remove the cotter pin (A) from the tie-rod ball joint nut (B), and loosen the nut.

Separate the tie-rod ball joint and damper steering arm using the ball joint thread protector and ball joint remover. Repeat on the other side of the vehicle.

Remove the P/S heat baffle plate (A).

Remove the engine wire harness clamp and clip (A) from the two mounting brackets.

Loosen the adjustable hose clamp (A) and disconnect the return hose (B).

Loosen the 14 mm flare nut (C), and disconnect the feed line (D).

Open the hose holders (A) on the return hose, and remove the return hose clamp bolt (B).

Disconnect the power steering pressure switch connector (A).

Remove the feed line (B) on the P/S line mounting bracket (C), and move it aside.

Remove the body stiffener (A).

Remove the two 10 mm flange bolts (A) and washers (B) from the left side of gearbox.

Remove the 10 mm flange bolt (A) and nut (B) from the right side of gearbox, and remove the mounting bracket (C).

Lower the steering gearbox, and rotate it so the pinion shaft points upward, and remove the mounting cushion (D).

Remove the pinion shaft grommet (A) from the top of the valve body unit.

Carefully move the steering gearbox and tie-rods as an assembly toward the driver's side until the pinion shaft (A) clears the wheelwell opening (B) on the frame.

Remove the steering gearbox (A) through the wheelwell opening on the driver's side. Be careful not to damage the hoses, lines, and wire harnesses.

Remove the P/S line mounting bracket (A).


that' the instructions for a 04 not sure what the year is on yours but there all pretty much the same

wes wagon

Good point, then again he/she has to start somewhere. What better initiation rite?

ChalmersP

Sorry for being vague, yes it is dripping. Not a constant drip, just about every 2/3 minutes. Ill look in to the price of seals, but how much would re manufactured rack cost? Thanks for telling me what the tie rod ends were Im quite confident that I can fix this if I have directions.
Thanks!

wes wagon

Just make sure to get a shop manual. Every 2-3 min is a fast drip! You used to be able to get reman racks from Majestic Honda, not sure. You could get a junkyard rack, replace the seals/rebuild it before you touch the car... you know, get it all ready to go so that you'll have the car torn apart for minimal time.
Just an idea.

02sia2

those are the directions that honda gives it's techs they also come with pictures but i don't know how to load them on here from my dealer website

qwrty

this happened to me 2-3yrs ago, i think!? i traced it through the solid lines, it was rusted! so
thats where the leak is coming from.. i just bought the lines on the dealership and looked through
their online catalog, i kinda observed that it has the same part nos. w/ the civic Si(em1) so incase
you might need to replace your whole rack and pinion, you might wanna check the parts pages
im sure a lot of civic owners would sell them off to you... just second check again if ever youll
go this route, but my best bet is that your solid lines might be rusted... i have 5 crvs that were
above 200k miles i never had this issue to replace the whole thing except for those rusted lines..

good luck!

ChalmersP

Ah! Thats great to hear! Ill go outside and take a look right now!
Thanks!

Mike Becker

My wife's just took the 2010 CRV it in to the dealership with leaking fluids and they stated it was the rack and pinion leaking from its seals. They said it would cost $2000! This sound high? This car has only 60k miles. Could I do this cheaper?

dogbiscuit

do you have the tools and the know how?

I mean here's the thing the dealership is going to charge more than anyone else typically. Once you get **** taken apart you will hit a point of basically no return. Can you go without the car for a week at worse case scenario? for someone with all the tools (several thousands of dollars worth) the rack job is still going to be a couple of hours at home especially if you don't have a lift. If you don't have tons of tools consider it a weekend job or longer.


Doing any work on any car typically comes down to whether or not you are mechanically inclined and if you are it comes down to "do i even have the tools?"

Best idea is to spend the money on the service manual or maybe get lucky finding a pdf version. I know there's one out there for the RD1. lookup the whole rack and pinion setup in that manual then decide if it's worth it. Also you're going to pay $100+ for the manual.

Jerry Kissinger

does anny one know the mitchell manual time for replaceing the rack & pinion on a 1997 crv

jdm_bones

iTrader: (5)

I,ve done a r&p on a 2000 civic si, and it took me about 2hrs with impact tools, to remove and replace, with new r&p at hand. So my guess 1.5hrs to 3hrs, with part and correct tools at hand.

Mike Becker

So the Service Manager called my wife and said that Honda would cover almost all of the repairs. Only cost $107. Way to go Honda! We really love our CRV and this kind of customer service reaffirms it.

jdm_bones

iTrader: (5)

That is sweet!

Manchu

Was the vehicle under warranty? I have same issue and dealer said I need to replace. My vehicle is out of warranty though.