The power steering rack on my 97 Accord LX is about to quit. Makes chuddering creaking sounds when I turn it pulling out of parking spaces, has trouble auto-centering back if the wheel isn't turned very far, has too much free play (I can wiggle the wheel back and forth at least 10-15 degrees on the highway and it makes no difference), fluid smells burnt, yada yada. (It's a 172,000k car so I'm not surprised)

I have the Honda shop manual in PDF format, and it says I need to somehow remove my AT shift linkage, but never says why. Will this get in the way, or can I move the rack around it?
Also, can I mark my outer tie rod ends to retain the alignment, or is my car going to be seriously messed up and in immediate need of a new alignment after the job is finished?

Just need to know if anybody else has done this job before - I'd rather not pay a shop 100+ bucks in labor to do the job unless I'm going to spend a day and a half doing it myself.

Lastly, if there are any Honda racks that will fit on a 97 chassis but offer better feel and feedback than the stock rack, that would be cool to know.

 

I took the rack out on my 95 EX before when I was replacing the rear beam of the front subframe. The car was a manual so I don't know anything about the AT shift linkage, but if the manual says to remove it, it's more than likely correct and you should remove it.

You can mark the rod ends and probably get it fairly close on reassembly but it's best to take it to a shop after and get an alignment.

 

On the ground with no lift it will be a chore. Especially if you have limited tools and expeirece in this area. Marking the tie rods will do dick for you. You need to get it realigned....

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cb7-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Marking the tie rods will do dick for you.</TD></TR></TABLE>

how so? atleast you wouldn't be way off while driving to the alignment shop.

 

Yes mark the threads on the rod ends the when its all back together and settled in you can do a old school home alignment by measuring from the center line to centerline tire to tire in front and back of the front tires. measurment should be about an 1/8 inch less in the front. (known as toe-in) My old man did all his cars this way with great results, getting a 4 wheel alignment is better if you have the money!

 

I'd forgotten about that homerun alignment method, that'll be helpful.
I've determined that the exact problem seems to be that the inner left tie rod end is bad - I can wiggle the left wheel back and forth around a quarter of an inch or more (in terms of how far the rod moves in and out of the rack boot) and it makes a clunking noise as I hit either limit, but the right wheel I can't wiggle at all.
Would it be a better idea to have a shop install a new inner tie rod for me, or considering how many miles I have on the rack, should I just get a low-miles junkyard rack and replace the whole thing?

 

buddy did his and cost him 1000$

so yes its hard

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TouringAccord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

how so? atleast you wouldn't be way off while driving to the alignment shop.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well I meant in terms of the alignment being returned to true values. it will be way off even if it doesnt seem this way..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by F22accord5 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">buddy did his and cost him 1000$

so yes its hard </TD></TR></TABLE>

If your buddy paid $1000 for a new steering rack installation, I doubt it was because of the difficulty. I think he may have accidentally bought a new body shell along with the steering rack by mistake.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by cb7-R &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Well I meant in terms of the alignment being returned to true values. it will be way off even if it doesnt seem this way..</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm not looking for some complete golden ratio toe settings, I just want it to be set well enough so I don't go around squealing my tires in a straight line on the way to the tire shop. I definitely wouldn't up and hop on the highway after using a tape measure to set up my suspension.

 

it works, as a temp solution! and it works good. its really easy!

 

This is not hard at all if u have a lift i recently replaced my rack and pinion about a month ago. the only hard part was budging the nuts for the lines use a lot of PB Blaster!!. i had that thing in an out within the hour and i threw it up on the alignment rack and just set the toe not 2 bad at all