Hi, first question is can i put 185 65 r 14 tires on a 2001 civic lx?
Second i recently have alot of parts put on my car,front struts and new strut mounts, tie rod ends and an cv boot.
Now im hearing a clicking/clunking( mostly clicking) sound when i turn the wheel either way. It doesnt matter if the car is moving, off or on. Back yard mechanic thinks is the rack making the sound.
I forgot to say that my left outer boot was torn, which i understand that a bad cv joint can cause said noise. But would'nt i only hear the clicking when turning the wheel in one direction not both if it was a cv joint?

 

For your first question, technically yes you can put 185/65R14 instead of the 70 series BUT... the difference between the two is at the very limit of the "acceptable limit" when choosing the tires for your car you should never put a tire with a difference of more the 3% of the original, the size you stated is 3% smaller then stock so not only will your speedo have a 2mph difference @ 60mph but you will be it wont look quite right as the tire will look small and your millage will go up faster by 3% also, as for the second its hard to tell just from a description to what the exact problem is but it can be some of the things you mentioned

 

If your hearing the noise even with the car off I would suspect the rack or gearbox, if its not something in the steering column.