r22thomas

A few days ago I was driving and all of a sudden turning was very inconsistent. When i turned it would be super hard to turn but when i kept turning it would be easier. The best way I can describe it is sticky spots. Well later that day I turned right sharp and I hear "click click click" and my wheel is now sideways but im still driving straight. I thought it was my hub skipping teeth but if I turn sharp and make it skip, the nut and bolt in the center of the steering wheel also turns which means my hub is not the problem. What could it be? Steering Rack, Somewhere in the column. This only happens when turning right.

thenext

It is probably burnt up. When stuff goes wrong inside a steering rack it usually goes really wrong. I changed mine when it started doing that.

r22thomas

It sounds like its in the steering column though.

EJ1_CRIS_909

Check the rack bolts, they could be loose. I had a similar problem, i was able to jerk my steering wheel back to normal, then when i went under to check, the two mounting bolts fell OFF.

thenext

I have spent a LOT of time in the steering area of this sort of vehicle. The column isn't going to be giving you any mechanical problems like you are describing unless the splines are broken off where the u-joint connects them. One more thing you can look at though, check your upper ball joints. If they are bad, your wheel won't return properly. I am going to put my chips on the pinion gear not touching the rack gear with enough clearance and it chewed up a tooth off of it.

r22thomas

Yea the column isnt the problem, heres a video. So its probably just time for a manual integra rack?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeJE-_RHOSc

hafast

Yup.

thenext

Here is a pic of what the insides look like, figure it might give you a better idea of what is going on in there.

r22thomas

Yea, its hard to tell in the video but the pinion (i think its called) actually jumps forward when it skips. How would I tell if its my pinion or the rack that has messed up teeth.

thenext

You have to pull both the tie rods off and a couple bolts and snap rings to get those two pieces out in the picture if you want to inspect them. If it is jumping teeth, the damage is already done and there isn't much you can do about it. There is a certain clearance the teeth have to be at. If they aren't the two metal sufaces will grind into each other and it will fail eventually. I would go with better safe than sorry and just replace the whole thing before it seizes up on you. They don't really cost much but the job is a little time consuming.

r22thomas

Alright, thanks, im building my car for autocross so i was evetually going with a manual integra rack anyways.

thenext

Yeah, good luck man. Manual steering FTW!

PS- When you are pulling the rack, take off your tie rod ends, turn the wheel all the way to the passenger side, and drop your exhaust where the cat attaches to the exhaust manifold. It will save you from a LOT of headaches on how to get it to drop out.