Im stumped on this one, basically I was just going to buy a new rebuilt steering rack and avoid all this but after further inspection, I believe my inner tie rods to be perfectly fine, and I kind of think my rack end bushing is perfectly fine to.

The car has 60k miles, and is a RHD EF7, so the rack end bushing is on the LEFT (my passenger) side of the rack if your sitting in the car looking forward. Im curious if the busing would be the same part from Honda or different?

Im curious if the bushing/rack "rod" can have ANY play in it. With the wheel fully locked to the left, I have about 1/16" play, literally barely moves at all, but it isnt SOLID like the drivers (right) side is.





Is this normal?

Since my inner tie rods dont need changing, and I figure this bushing may be alright, I am hoping to simply re-grease the rack and re-install everything. As you can see my rack was quite dry, just a light coat of rusty looking grease

I just need some clarification if there can be ANY play in that bushing, or if its supposed to be super rigid and solid.

 

Not quite sure so just a speculation/guess:
Thinking you might be feeling some gap between the pinion and the rack.
You can adjust this.

If you lock the wheels in the other direction (to the right), does the play transfer to the other wheel (right wheel)?

 

You can visually see the "rusted" rack rod in my picture is what is moving when I push up and down

 

bump

 

The way to check play would be to grab that rusty rack and try and move it up-down and fore-aft. If you have play at this point, then you probably need a new inner bushing. It should feel very solid with no play. I just replaced mine and it had no wiggle to it once I put the new one in.

I would suspect that rust has been slowly grinding away the soft plastic over the years. If the rack itself cannot be cleaned to a smooth surface, I would replace the whole thing. Probably cheaper than getting a new rack & pinion to rebuild yourself.

 

Throw it all away. It looks like junk! Hopefully you can find RHD parts?

 

These racks are EASY to refresh. Just replace the bushing, it's a walk in the park. It costs only a few bucks from the dealership and you can essentially do it with the rack still in the car.

The bushings GO BAD. And judging from the rust and corrosion on your steering shaft I'd say yours is definitely bad. When mine went bad it clunked a bunch when driving and I thought it was all kinds of things (ball joints, tie rods etc). You will have to remove your inner tie-rod joint to replace the bushing.

The bushing holds itself in by 2 round tabs (dots). I used a drill to take them down then I pried the bushing out with a screw driver. Then clean the shaft, re-lube, install new boots to keep that damn water out, slide the new bushing over the shaft and into the housing until the 2 tabs "click" and you're done.

 

Would a RHD rack end bushing be the same as a LHD?

 

Well I got ansy and I ordeered it anyways online since my local honda dealer said a week wait anyways and there price was almost DOUBLE on EVERYTHING

53536-SB2-000 WASHER, TIE ROD LOCK 3 $2.66 $7.98
53430-SH3-000 BUSH, RACK END 1 $8.88 $8.88
53537-SH3-J00 DUST SEAL B, TIE ROD 1 $16.43 $16.43
53537-SH3-000 DUST SEAL A, TIE ROD 1 $16.43 $16.43
Subtotal $49.72
Sales Tax
$0.00
Shipping Charge
$8.14
Handling Charge
$4.95
TOTAL $62.81