This is long but bear with me..OK...everything is finally done. i had the car aligned this morning. Drove it about 30 miles and everything was peachy...so i come home, rest for awhile and think **** time to check to PO box. Get in my car to go to the post office. As i come out of the drive way i hear a metallic pop (kinda like a loud clink) and i was thinking to myself oh ****. As im driving out of my driveway (its gravel and will soon be paved) i hear the knocking coming from the steering rack like it had been before i swapped it out. Sounds almost like a worn strut but i dont think it is. I turned the car around...parked it and stuck my head under the steering column and turned the wheel back and forth and I can make it make the knocking sound. Im scared...a week worth of work, 300 worth of parts and a 50$ alignment and could driving it out my driveway fucked it all up? I know i need to grease the tie-rod ends soon. But thats all i can think of.

 

Did you ever leave your driveway? Could have been gravel hitting your car?

Try driving around and see if it still makes the noise. Free bump.

 

thanks bro...and no i didnt leave its 1/2 a mile up and down the road and i was going slow. The weird part about it is you can hear the noise with the car off sitting and turning the wheel back and forth. I just checked the inner tie-rods again and they are ok. ( they better be...i just spent 200 on new inner and outer tie-rods plus 85 for a used rack)

 

Check the CV Boots, see if they are torn/split.

 

mine did this too after an accident, like there are clips that hold the steering coloumn, and one might be of and when you turn its snagging on the column and making that noise, i replaced the clip and problem was solved

 

This happened to a friend of mine. One of the bolts holding up most of the weight of the rack had a little rubber bushing on it, it wore away and was making the rack click and make noice when it was turned or when he hit a bump. Check that out.

 

-its got fresh axles so its not the CV boots...i checked them anyway and they are 100%.

-ill check into that clip. where is it located on the column?

-i hope nothings wrong with those bolts...arggh...i just had the motor and tranny out 3 days ago replacing this and i dont wanna have to back in

 

On his ek (im assuming it would be the same) they were in the middle of the car and steering rack and bolt up onto the underside of the car.