Steering noise...

[EndlessNA1]

I have a 92 and lately my steering rack has been making noise going over small bumps on the road. There is no noise at all when I turn going or at a complete stop, only going straight on small bumps. I just put it on the lift and found that my tie rods have torn ball joints but the rubber boot that connects to the rack is okay. Could the ball joints be the reason or do I have to replace the entire steering rack also?

Thanks!

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I would suspect you do not need a steering rack, make sure you also check the inner tie rods under the accordian boot. Typically they are not bad, but they do get loose and may also need to be retightened. There is a special locking washer to hold them in and I have seen them loose many times.

If the inners look ok, I would replace the tie rod ends first, then see where you land.

HTH,
LarryB

 

[greenberet]

In my car, the noise turned out to be coming from the steering column, which had developed a slight amount of play over time.

Over time, the steering of my '91 started sounding a bit loose and rattly when driving over bumps. I could duplicate the noise when the car was standing still by turning the steering wheel back and forth about an inch really quickly.

My dealer first told me the tie rods were shot, so I had those replaced. The noise was still there and my dealer then diagnosed the steering rack as the culprit. Unfortunately, adjusting and then replacing the steering rack didn't get rid of the noise either. I decided to investigate myself since my confidence in my dealer was falling quickly. Laying in the car with my head by the petals and turning the steering column back and forth, I could hear that the noise wasn't coming from the U-joints that connect the steering column to the steering rack, even though noise from those joints is supposedly not uncommon. Rather, the noise came from further up, from somewhere inside the steering column. I bought a used column on NSX Prime that didn't have any play and after installing it in my car, the noise is gone.