Hey guys new member here just found the forum! Since my girl bought the car it always felt not quite right to me as far as the steering went. It would kinda just pull to the left and pull to the right randomly for no reason. She does have 17's but it did this with the 14's on it as well. I have just recently put struts on her car and have noticed that the steering feels alot sloppier than before and now really likes to pull both directions. I pulled the wheels and found that there is about an inch from where the bottom of the spring is and where it should be in the strut housing on both front struts? Is this something that could cause the random pulling? I know the vehicle needs an alignment and was on my way to get one but couldnt justify it if i need to pull the rack and put a new rack in. Its got new inner and outer tie rods. Could use ball joints probably but this pull is rather severe never seen b/js cause this kinda pull. At rest in the garage while turning the steeringwheel left/right about 3-4in quickly you can here a clunk type sound. Im not too familiar with hondas or manual steering and am unaware if this is normal or not for a manual rack and pinion. Thank you very much for your help!

 

Time to check for play in the steering parts before you get the alignment done. You failed to mention the year of the car but here are a few things to look at. Check the upper and lower ball joints(check for play lateral and vertical) If you find any replace the bad parts. You say that you have new inner and outter tie rods, grab the tire in front and by the rear rock it left and right look for any play before the rack starts to move.( make sure the key is in the ign and the steering wheel is unlocked). Last but not least check all the rubber bushings in the control arms for play/wear. I just reread your post about the shock and spring having space. Is the car lowered? Did you reassemble the strut with all the parts off the old strut? ( rubber shims,top hat, tapered washer, ect).Make sure the nut on the shock strut is tight. Also there shouldn't be any type of thump/ banging when you turn the wheel.

 

sorry bout that its a 95 civic dx 16v. So banging in the rack would indicate worn out teeth and need for a new rack correct? I will inspect all bushings and components. Thanks for the advice.

What is the specific way to diagnose a manual rack? So far all ive seen is to turn the wheel fast back and forth and listen for clunk which i have.

 

In my old jeep you could turn the wheel a good 3-4in and nothing would happen then any more and it would turn hard. I always referred to that feeling as loose. My girls car doenst feel loose it turns almost immediately when you touch the wheel its just got a mind of its own?

Also is the manual rack supposed to have any sort of grease in it or lube? Cause there was none to speak of when the boots were changed other than what little was on the inner tie rod..

 

It is normal for a front wheel drive car to feel loose/ or dart around esp if the alignment is way out.Remember you are driving the front wheels and turning with them so things being out of wack can cause the car to feel really bad. Just make sure everything is tight no play in the steering parts and have the car aligned. The Clunking sound reminds me of a bad upper balljoint/upper control arm bushing.
As far as lube in the rack no there really isnt anything fluid wise there will be grease on the rack gears but thats about it. Its not like its full of oil

 

alrighty I appreciate the help! Any suggestions as to whether the ebay kit with the endlinks, new tie rods, and b/js is any good? Thanks again!

 

Ok so i just pulled the tires and looked at everything and wiggled as hard as i could on everything and nothing at all was loose in the slightest. As far as the LCA goes does the front part of arm have rubber everywhere or just in a specific area. Unlike the rear part of the arm which has full rubber on both sides. Just curious as both fronts appear this way as do the rears of the fronts.

Is there a specific test to check the performance of a manual steering rack?

No movement noted when wheel is shaken up/down left/right.

With no load on steering the steering wheel DOES NOT make clunk sound when turned back and forth like when the wheels are on the ground and the rack has a load on it.

Vehicle is not lowered and everything was reassembled with all old stock parts that needed to be used.

 

bump for advice on the ebay parts and a bump for any advice on how to diagnose a manual rack and pinion?

 

I have just had someone make the steering wheel make the clunk sound Im hearing in that quick 3-4in turns. It is definitely coming from right at the base of the pinion gear where it goes into the rack. I listened with a mechanics stethoscope and heard it very clearly. Is this an indication of need for a new rack? I would imagine so since I can not find any info on how to obtain a rebuild kit. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Anyone?

 

For stuff like ball joints you really need to pry under them with a bar to see if theres any play in them. as far as ball joints and tie rod ends go its been my expirence that aftermarket parts are junk, sure OEM is like twice the price but they last like a hundread times as long.

 

Yea i took my 4ft long matco pry bar and pried on them pretty good and noticed movement. I was referring more to the diagnosis of the rack as that is where the clunk is coming from. I am very curious to find out how to diagnose a manual rack as i've looked generally on yahoo and cant find anything exactly describing the procedure for diagnosis.

 

So just to confirm there is some play in the ball joints? Bad lower ball joints can cause mysterious pulling to either side of the road.

 

my bad bro didnt see that there was not a "no" before play. Sorry about that man! There is no play evident to me from the b/j. Thanks and sorry again.

 

i'd go ahead and repl;ace the whole friont suspension... it sounds like cut springs, and a bad rack n pinion and whorn tie rods ends.

 

Definitely planning on it but both inner and outer rods have been replaced. And the springs do not look cut at all, and had to be compressed quite a bit to change out the struts i guess it could be possible though. Appreciate the advice. Any suggestions as to diagnosing the manual rack and pinion?

 

Not sure if I can help if it is the rack because I don't know how to diagnose that. BUT I had a del sol that pulled side to side randomly and for the longest time couldn't get it fixed. Took it to a bunch of mechanics and got an alignment and had them re-look at it a nd re-align it like 6 times under warranty and they NEVER found a problem.

I then lifted the car myself and took a pry bar to the lower control arms and found that the rear bushing on one side was falling apart. You couldn't see it but when I pried on it it would move and when I replaced the bushing it was fine ever since. I would replace them first before replacing the rack becuase they are pretty cheap.

 

Hey thanks bro appreciate the info. I will try prying on everything again today and see if i can find any weak spots but everything appeared to be aok. Is it better to just get new bushings or should i get new LCA's? What about uppers? Is it better to just replace the arms?

 

For front and rear LCAs I just replace the bushings, buy them from honda. For the rear upper control arms and compensator arms it usually makes more sense to buy new arms with the bushings already in them.

 

Oh ok sounds good. Thanks again for the help bro really appreciate it. So with the sounds and symptoms ive described would you suggest replacing upper and lower b/j's, and all bushings in the UCA, and LCA's, even with that distinct clunk coming from the rack and pinion? I'll get on that hopefully this weekend perhaps.

 

also where is the best place to get all my bushings from?

 

Honda, Majestic Honda may be cheaper than the dealership. hondaautomotiveparts.com