crazyhorse2011

I checked the fluid a bit ago and its full
95 civic ex d16z6 5mt
180k miles
AC delete

the steering is tight and has <1yr ball joints, tie rod ends and alignment. The steering wheel just wont swivel back to center when you let go in a turn unless its cranked like 90° or more

NVturbo

replace it for one of these. It will straighten **** out....

Pinja

Burn car to the ground

crazyhorse2011

Bump

civic402lx

So your last alignment was less then a year ago? And u are certain it is not out of spec? If alignment shop it us within spec then remove the steering wheel and center it, then bolt it down.

crazyhorse2011

Yes the alignment is relatively recent. The car tracks straight, the issue is the wheel wont center back out omce you finish a turn. For example, turning out of a parking lot the wheel just stays turned right unless i manually rotate it back to center

tony_2018

Why didn't the alignment shop straighten it out?

crazyhorse2011

This issue is more recent than the alignment.

theres also a groaning from the front end whwn making a sharp turn, usually into parkinf spaces. I can feel it in the floorboards

mk378

Put the front on jack stands so the tires aren't touching the ground and make sure the steering moves freely. You should be able to put your hands on one tire and move the steering wheel and the other front wheel back and forth.

tony_2018

You have too many issues, have the alignment shop inspect rack and align the front wheel.

94EG8

You more that likely have a seized ball joint. Check that first.

crazyhorse2011

So my question is, is this unsafe? The wheel isnt sloppy, the car swerves left and right on command and doesnt shimmy or vibrate at all.
and how do you check for a seized ball joint? Jack up front end and rotate wheels left and right by hand (steer them by hand)?

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

could be a problem with the pinion gear itself, which would be unsafe

crazyhorse2011

So with the front end raised and me underneath with a flashlight, is there anything i could look for or grab and shake to point to one part over another one? I really dont wanna have to sell this car because its an otherwise solid car, ive never been more satusfied with the reliability of a D Series engine

eghatch9295

iTrader: (1)

youd sell it over replacing the rack?

tony_2018

and /THREAD

knew it was gonna go this way. Pretty sure this the same civic he had a while back

crazyhorse2011

this is the same civic ive always had

its just been tossed around by other posters that i should just sell the car

i dont see why i should if its an otherwise funcrioning car. The last issue i had was the intermittent overheat whoch was just a bad rad cap.

mk378

Yes of course this is unsafe. Also not fun having to constantly fight just to go straight down the road.

civic402lx

2 possible solutions been given.
1. Take it back to alignment shop have them adjust it, if possible, if they see no other issue
2. Replace rack and pinion, get it realign.

you can do that or not. Your choice.

crazyhorse2011

the car tracks straight at higher speeds just fine, its just at low speeds the steering wheel is slow to straighten back out. There is no fighting ig

crazyhorse2011

so this could be a simple alignment issue? Aside from the ball joint mentioned earlier, is there anything i can look for under the car to help me rule out or pinpoint issues?

civic402lx

Any reputable, competent alignment shop should know what to look for that may caused the issue. Ball joints,
tie rods, tires wear. Ect..

crazyhorse2011

So i lifted up the car and did some inspecting.

The underside is covered in fluids so its hard to tell what is what, especially at a low angle from which i was looking. Probably mostly oil.

PS reservoir is full to MAX FILL LINE and the area around it is mostly dry
Underside Visual:
-I noticed the boots on the PS rack are intact, but the rod protruding through each one isn't 100% sealed to the boots that they run through. Not sure if this is an issue but I couldn't see any grease leaking anywhere.
-Wheel shakedown concludes tie rod ends and ball joints are all secure, as they were 4 months ago when I checked them.
-wheel rotation confirms wheel bearings are quiet, and wheels spin a full rotation freely
- Visual check of bolts and nuts in area, strut tower bolts, castle nuts on balljoints, etc all still loctited into place
-I grabbed the driver side wheel and steered the car by hand by rotating the wheel. Although there was a little resistance, it felt continuous (not choppy)and smooth, until you got to the extremes of the steer, where it got noticeably harder but I was still able to move the tire by hand.
-The car made a quiet click here or there as I steered the wheel through its range of motion back and forth, about 3 times, at which point I hear a SQUIRT and the Power steering reservoir had geysered up a few teaspoons of fluid out the cap. Ive never heard of this before but I kept rotating the tire on the other side and it geyesered up some more.
-I cleaned up the bay and dropped the car, and set the fluid back where it should be. It should be noted that the fluid was a brick red/brown color.
- I started the engine and with the hood open and window down I stood outside the car and rotated the steering wheel and watched the wheel and listened to the engine bay. Aside from a small idle drop when the pump was loaded, the wheel rotated its full range of motion either direction without an audial or visual problem.I drove the car down the block, whipping the wheel left and right rapidly and the car responded sharply without making any noises or shaking.

Could it just be the cold weather? Its been warm all year and I know fluids become more viscous in the cold, its now 20-30 degrees regularly and my cars have always had heavier steering in the winter months.

civic402lx

What ps fluid are using?

crazyhorse2011

this, i dont know because its the same fluid thats been in there for years. I topped off with store brand power steering fluid