I have a 1993 Civic DX with the manual greased rack right now. I have full ITR brakes, suspension, knuckles, etc in this car. The problem I am having is after I do alignments on it the steering wheel is off to the left EVERY time. Keep in mind this is a fully built weekend warrior. Specs are somewhere around -3.5/-2.5 camber and zero toe all the way around.

I guess my question is - what can I check for to see if indeed I have a bad steering rack? I mean the car turns in nicely and steers properly it's just down the straight away it's off.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

 

Is it an aftermarket steering wheel and hub? Maybe when it was installed it was off 1 spline? Maybe the guy doing the alignment after setting it up the steering wheel moved slightly...That's actually VERY commmon. I doubt it's the rack itself.

On another note. 0 toe in the rear is good but try 1/16th toe out in front.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1999all_motoR_teg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it an aftermarket steering wheel and hub? Maybe when it was installed it was off 1 spline? Maybe the guy doing the alignment after setting it up the steering wheel moved slightly...That's actually VERY commmon. I doubt it's the rack itself.

On another note. 0 toe in the rear is good but try 1/16th toe out in front.</TD></TR></TABLE>

BIG +1 there

Unless you're a complete noob, you should rock some toe out up front.

 

yup and to clarify when I said 1/16th toe out I meant per side 1/8th total.

 

Have you tried a rack guide adjustment yet? The procedure is in the helms.

 

The car actually runs between 1/16th and 1/8th out on the front, but always in 1/16th on the rear... have not done a rack adj. yet, but have inspected all components for play and/or wear.

I have done 10+ alignments on the car since built but the last 3 have put the wheel off 10 degrees to the left.... on 2 different machines. ( the wheel is set straight on the machine till back off and drive forward... I even loosen the tierods before setting the wheel that way I dont move it trying to loosen them...)

I have ideas, but just want a few more......... I found a bad poly bushing on the lower left control, possibly setting the left wheel back when in forward motion causing caster and toe issues, does not take much to move wheel over a bit....

 

Don't forget the rack end bushing either.

 

any other things I should check?