Hey all

I was making a quick u-turn and half way through the turn it felt like all the resistance in my steering disappeared. i didn't think much of it, figured i might have slid or something. then i parked and ate and on the way home it felt like my steering had no life to it (like it had no force feedback if you know what that is) and it took more turns than usual to turn the wheels. so i got home and parked and popped my hood but it was too dark to see anything but i tried turning my wheel through the window and every turn i can hear a short pumping noise and my wheel would move a slight bit.

what happened? any suggestions or ideas appreciated

 

Any leaking fluid? Ball joints/tie rods OK? PS fluid levels? etc...

 

will have to check all that tomorrow as i have no light right now.

 

-no leaking fluids on the floor over night.
-power steering fluid was between min and max but after driving to work it's at max (is that normal?)
-power steering belt is still there. not sure if it's the right stiffness, maybe a few mm of travel when pushed

-and i still need to jack up the car to look at the ball joint and tie rod


highway driving felt semi-normal.. couldn't be spirited in the traffic. driving it around the parking lot it seems normal at low speeds, or so from what i remember. but when driving like 15 mph and up it just doesn't seem to steer. i'll turn but the car still seems to be heading straight. sometimes i'll turn the steering wheel the full 2 rotations or so and it still doesn't make a good 90degree turn.


Modified by Storm_Rider at 9:55 AM 5/23/2008

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Storm_Rider &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">-and i don't know how to check ball joints or tie rods. anyone got a quick pic of what to look at?


highway driving felt semi-normal.. couldn't be spirited in the traffic. driving it around the parking lot it seems normal at low speeds, or so from what i remember. but when driving like 15 mph and up it just doesn't seem to steer. i'll turn but the car still seems to be heading straight. sometimes i'll turn the steering wheel the full 2 rotations or so and it still doesn't make a good 90degree turn.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yikes, something is not right for sure... You're going to need to take each wheel off on the front and inspect all the suspension & steering stuff. It could be really dangerous if something important fails.

Hopefully these help (not a Honda but oh well, look at the tie rod ends):



Lower ball joint (where the lower control arm meets the knuckle):



Upper control arm also has a ball-joint:



It may not be any of those things, but I would check it out before you have a bigger problem.

 

checked most joints except for the upper control arm ball joint and i didn't see anything broken or out of place (that i know of). the tie rod joint compresses and extends with the turn of the wheel.

semi complete view

i forgot what these were called


driver side


passenger side



this is what i meant by the tie rod end ball joint extending, is this normal?



could a blown shock or something with the springs cause this steering issue i have?

appreciate the help

 

Wow all that stuff looks fine...probably something with your steering rack. Also check the radius rods and bushings and see if they're good.