Hi, I am experiencing a loose feeling in my steering. I just got an alignment, and everything under the car suspension wise is fine. I did notice some fluid leaking out of my steering rack at the box part, where the steering wheel shaft connects. Also, I checked for loosness, and the passenger side tie rod felt a hair loose when I shook it very hard. Any imput is helpfull. Thr car wants to follow ruts in the road, and its very annoyong. Thanks, Ryan

PS, are there any adjustments I can make, or should I just replace it. Where can I find a quality new one?

 

I looked in my manual, and I found an adjustment bolt, but the bolt looks to be like 40mm. Anyone ever tried adjusting it successfully. Thanks, Ryan

 

Hey mate, I'm in the same boat as you.

Replacing worn tie rod ends will decrease bump steer, (which is basically the toe aspect of the front wheel alignment moving out of spec when it hits bumps).

I recently changed tie rod ends on my CR-X and the steering immediately felt lighter, smoother and faster in response to steering input.

Unless you have a bit of experience with testing ball joint flex, it could be a hit or miss determining if yours are worn. But generally speaking, a new tie rod end ball joint is difficult to move laterally when installed (ie towards the wheel and towards the rack).

What made me think my tie rods were a problem was, when you turn the steering to full-lock, you could turn it a tiny bit more by applying more force.

Play before the wheels move is more likely sloppyness at the point where the rack engages the column. There's a Rack adjustment screw responsible for locking the gears together at the correct pressure. Your workshop manual will outline the procedure with relevant steps and specs for your car.

I'd try this before replacing any parts.

Let us know how it goes (y)