On my 91 crx si the suspension in the front is very rough. It is as if I don't even have suspension. When I go over a bump there are knocks and rattles. When I turn there is no clicking or grinding. Even when I am coming to a stop I can hear something loose in the front end. On the passanger side when I go over a bump you can feel the vibration in the floor board. I thought it was the struts.

So I took it into a "Honda's Only" shop. The owner test drove it with me in the car, then took it to the shop and put it on the lift. He said the struts where good, but the manual rack and pinion needed to be replaced. He showed me there was a boot that was broken and he pulled it back and said there was something loose. He said I could go buy one from Advance Auto for like $100 and he would put it on for me.

I went to A/A and they only had a rack and pinion for power steering and it was like $400. I figured that can't be right so I went to the dealership and they said that the rack and pinion doesn't usually go out on these cars but it was $470.

Is this really a rack and pinion problem.??

 

go somewhere else and get a second opinion. if another place thinks its the rack and pinion go get one from pick n pull. it could be just a bad bushing in the rack and pinion and not the whole thing

 

it's probably the rack, get one from a junkyard. the si's have variable ratio racks, so if that matters to you, get it out of an si. other than that, any 88-91 civic one will work. (except power steering, of course)

 

also check the inner and outer tierods for play

 

My upper ball joints were making the same kind of racket you said yours was. Check those too.

 

Defenetly check out your balljoints, They have let go on me before and im just glad it was not on the highway

 

waiting for tyson to come in here (rack end bushing)

 

I did a search on here and found Quaife America makes aftermarket rack & pinion kit. It is cheaper than dealer.

 

I ordered a used rack and pinion for $150.

 

the rack and pinion could cause a rough ride. if your boot is ripped then why not fix it and eliminate it. I would buy one from the junkyard. I had a bad rack and when I went over bumps you could here a popping sound.

 

Yeah this rack and pinion is coming from a junkyard. The guy that I am buying it from says it only has 90,000 miles on it, but who knows.

What bushings/anything else do you all suggest replacing while the rack and pinion is being replaced?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KansasKev &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">What bushings/anything else do you all suggest replacing while the rack and pinion is being replaced? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Rack End Bushing for sure. I'm kicking myself for not replacing this when I changed out my steering rack a few months ago

 

Well I got the rack replaced. Seems to be doing alot better in the front end. I need an alignment now though.

But it still seems a little rough.
What is the next thing to replace? I guess I will find out when I take it in for an alignment.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KansasKev &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I did a search on here and found Quaife America makes aftermarket rack & pinion kit. It is cheaper than dealer. </TD></TR></TABLE>

yeah, but it doesn't work on si racks, right tyson.

 

Any other suggestions.
When I hit a bump now, I can feel it more inside the car. More of a solid bang.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by KansasKev &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">but the manual rack and pinion needed to be replaced. He showed me there was a boot that was broken and he pulled it back and said there was something loose.</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats the rack end bushing he's pointing to.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by higgunscrx &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">waiting for tyson to come in here (rack end bushing)</TD></TR></TABLE>

lol, why am i bothering anymore? seems like you all got it!

more links. all you need to know.

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1117870
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=1387079

check your balljoints also. its usually never just one thing that needs replacement.

oh and dont consider the quaife as some kind of alternative. they only supply literally the rack and pinion. you need to have the old rack housing to install it into. youre basically rebuilding the whole steering rack. (which youll end up replacing the rack end bushing anyway) and yes, as someone mentioned, you must have the DX/HF rack for it to fit properly. quaife goofed and made it the DX/HF rack, and didnt know the Si rack was different.


ah, i c you already replaced the steering rack with a junkyard one. bad move. the rack end bushing is only $10 in parts. for the effort it took to replace the steering rack, the same effort would have been done to replace the rack end bushing alone, and cost $10 in parts. oh well.

if youre still complaining of the front end, like i said, check everything else too. also, 90,000 miles is NOT a new rack, there could be a lot wrong with that one too. i would only buy a part like a steering rack from the junkyard if i knew i was going to rebuild it anyway, like a caliper or whatever. if i cant rebuild it, like a master cylinder, then i wont ever buy or use a junkyard part.



Modified by Tyson at 9:57 PM 11/20/2005