My em1 is making this creaking/clicking sound when i turn the wheel. its most noticeable at a stop or going very slowly. it sounds like its coming from the drivers side somewhere behind the rim itself. when im parked on grass or dirt it doesnt happen nearly as bad same as if i have the car up on jackstands. i wont say what ive replaced yet, but ive been trying to get it sorted out for a week now. any ideas?

 

Every time I have heard that while the vehicle isn't moving it's been ball joints. If the car was moving it could have a similar sound but be many different things. Either way that is extremely lound and it shouldn't be driven until the problem is figured out.

 

balljoint is on order from honda should be here today. ive had balljoint wear out and get very loose or spin when trying to tq the nut but never had one creak like this.

 

best way is to have someone turn the wheel while you get under and inspect for bindings. It's hard to do if you're the one turning the wheel and can't see what's binding. It could be anything for that matter.

 

took the lower ball joint out and it was damn difficult to move, borderline seized. i know it was only a duralast autozone brand but it was only a few thousand miles old. must have been **** from the get go. either way, oem balljoint installed and a few trips around town no more noise.

i did notice the wheel bearing had slight play, which is oem less and than a year old(~15k miles). ill assume the bad balljoint put extra stress on the bearing while turning. ill order a new one tonight.


in the original troubleshooting process, i removed the power steering and ps rack and swapped in a manual rack from another ek. i had the belt off the pulley for a while anyway. it bolted right up but needed the u joint connecting the rack to the column from either a manual steering ek, or any eg (power or manual).

thanks for the help guys, figured i go all summer no issues and literally on my first day back to work this damn thing started acting up.

 

Yeah, been there quite a few times myself and other people's cars. Glad I could help and you got it all sorted out.

I would be sure to check the torque on your axle nut first IMO. I personally have a hard time believing that the ball joint would have ruined a new wheel bearing so quickly. Unless of course something wasn't right from the installation initially. Either way, good looking out and checking things while you were in there.