Power Steering Rack Rebuild - Part 3 of 3

I know that some of you have subscribed to these series of threads for obvious reasons. With the EPS racks on all AT cars and on all NSX's from '95 on, and the replacements prohibitively expensive, I became obsessed with finding a fix. Part 1 detailed my background, finding someone who could fix them and removal of the rack. Part 2 was how it got fixed by D1Guy and many others, volunteered to send their racks to him for repair, both manual as well as EPS. That thread was since moved to the Vendor section. This is the conclusion with Part 3.

If you are looking for pictures of me installing this, go back to Part 1 and read it backward. It is very easy to put it back in. I did it in about 2 hours and that was in my garage with the front end up on jack stands. I did it by myself so it wasn't that big of a project. But there are some points I'd like to assist others who may tackle this project that will make it easier and quicker.

• Take your time and look over the manual carefully so that you get your carriage bolts in the right areas and torques correctly. You don't want your rack falling off your car in a high speed corner.
• There are only 5 electrical connections on the rack. The two power leads to the torque sensor (red is + and blue is -), the two grounds and the grey power connector that sits behind the battery below the CCU fan. Make sure that everything is tight, especially the grey connector. Ask me how I know.
• The rack comes back from repair fairly centered but the trick is to get the steering wheel fairly straight, drop the coupler and then turn the steering wheel left and right, stop to stop and count the turns. I got is so close the alignment was almost dead on.
• Get the car aligned. By screwing the toe rods so that only 11mm is exposed, you will be damn close. I mean really, really close. It will drive like a tractor until you do get it aligned so go slow and don't drive too far to get this done.

Now comes the part where you will have to climb under the car again. D1Guy replaces the outer bushings and the inner bearings. The rack will sit snug in the frame and feel nice and firm. What will feel real firm is the adjustment that is placed on the bearings and their load against the steering rods. Mine felt like it was just too tight, like the steering was stuck and the only thing you could do was drive with both hands on the wheel. This was because the steering input was of such force that you would over correct and then have to manhandle it back. We talked about this and he told me about the adjustment bolt. This was placed in by the factory so as the R&P wore through the years, you could tighten the feel back into the rack. With new bearings installed, it was way too tight. So, D1Guy marks your adjustment bolt to show where yours was when he receives it. After rebuilding mine he tightened it up another 30 degrees to make sure it was tight. It was way too tight so I climbed under the car and brought it back to the original position he received it. The rack was much better but still had that kind of "stuck" feel to it. So I just loosened it back another 20 degrees. Pictures are attached. I'll drive it this weekend and fine tune it from there. I should be real close to having a brand new EPS powered rack & pinion steering rack. And for way less than the $4k the dealership wanted for a new one.

I have shared all of my findings with D1Guy so with this new found knowledge, any repair he does going forward will make your lives easier. If anyone has any questions, feel free to PM me. It's great to have power steering back. The only downside is now my wife can drive the car again. I can hear her right now... "Honey, I need to go to the store to get some steaks, where are your keys?"

Glad that everything worked out, and for doing the research for the rest of the guys with EPS equipped cars.

Bram

Thanks Bram. I know you have followed this thread(s) since the beginning. It has been somewhat frustrating and the time without the car has really tried my patience. But driving the car again makes it all worth it.

I'll be posting up a review of how it feels a bit later in the Vendor Review section. Need to get some miles on it and then some high speed stuff before I can be subjective enough. But it sure feels nice now.

Good morning JC. Did you get your rack in tune with the way you wanted it? Thanks for the whole write up. I know you were close last time we spoke, but never heard whether or not you got it perfectly set. Right now I am going to torque these about 30 degrees from tight instead of the recommended 15 degrees by the book to compensate for the better bearings Ive been using. Does that 30 degrees still seem correct? Thanks again and I hope you are enjoying it.

Right back at you. I backed it off 180 degrees from where you had originally marked it. Your bearings are tight enough all by themselves. I can always tighten them up further in the future. Thanks again.

And that brings me to today. I found while rolling down the freeway tonight that the steering play was about 5-10 degrees. So i climbed back under the car and tightened it back to withing 45 degrees of where my rack was originally sent to D1Guy and marked. I'll update more after another day in the saddle.

Mind if I ask what's all the talk about degrees? I'm not following :redface:

btw, D1, you should have received my rack today or tomorrow!

There is an adjustment bolt on the rack. You'll see it in the manual with the procedure for adjustment

I still have a little too much play in the steering wheel so I will tighten down the bolt a little more. It is precise and the rack has loosened a little in feel as far as the amount of input require to turn the steering wheel. I may end up right back where the original marks were.

d1 guy rebuilt a manual rack that I found online and I'm waiting to get it back..... then I'm going to delete my EPS rack and the electronics... cant wait to get rid of my EPS! :biggrin:

enkrypt3d said:

d1 guy rebuilt a manual rack that I found online and I'm waiting to get it back..... then I'm going to delete my EPS rack and the electronics... cant wait to get rid of my EPS! :biggrin:

Click to expand...

I think you're in for a treat.

The manual rack is a variable-ratio steering rack, ranging from 18.2-to-1 to 20.8-to-1 (steering gets faster as you turn-in). The 4-speed automatic gearbox you'll have electric power steering and a fixed 18.6-to-1 steering gear ratio. I believe the newer EPS racks have a fixed ratio like the old autos. If someone can confirm that the old auto EPS rack is the same as the newer EPS that would be great.

RYU said:

I think you're in for a treat.

The manual rack is a variable-ratio steering rack, ranging from 18.2-to-1 to 20.8-to-1 (steering gets faster as you turn-in). The 4-speed automatic gearbox you'll have electric power steering and a fixed 18.6-to-1 steering gear ratio. I believe the newer EPS racks have a fixed ratio like the old autos. If someone can confirm that the old auto EPS rack is the same as the newer EPS that would be great.

Click to expand...

Yea I used to have a 91 coupe with manual steering and loved it... less moving parts to go bad.... should be here tomorrow and hopefully get it installed soon!

Thought I would update this after I had put some miles on the car and some serious canyon runs. It is perfect. Very tight, predictable and precise. The power assist kicks out at about 15 mph and is seamless in transition. Glad I did this. And if you are reading this, you will be glad there is someone out there that can fix yours. Thanks Matt.

Is D1GUY still rebuilding steering rack?

[MENTION=27426]MOMSPH[/MENTION] yes he is, he just did mine a few months ago [MENTION=15998]d1 guy[/MENTION]

Cool, thank you!!

Wow, I just checked this forum again because MexiRicer tagged me. Glad you did. All PMs have been replied to and I'll be glad to help fellas. My cell is 662-416-0900 and my email is [email protected]. That's the fastest way to contact me because my PRIME email is my old business address, so the PMs don't show up on my phones email client. Thanks everyone.

Email sent.

Email sent as well.