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NSX rack repair

E

emac

Contributing Member
Joined
9 June 2015
Messages
159
I have a 97 NSX with 24k miles. I haven't driven it in a while and took it out to run some fuel through a couple of weeks ago. I noticed the steering was real notchy and vague, and not returning to center from a left turn. It has felt this way for a while but seemed worse now. I decided to send the rack in to Charles at rack repair.

Sent it on a Monday and received it back the following Wednesday. Installed it tonight and the steering is way better than I can remember. Super smooth. The returning to center wasnt much better and it seemed to pull left. I checked the toe and it was zero using my fastrax. I added about 1/16 toe in and that made a huge difference. I am going to ask around and see if I can find someone I trust to check the alignment. I haven't had good luck the last couple of years finding honest competent people. My area is pretty rural.

Just wanted to share my experience, and give a thumbs up to NSX rack repair. Great service.
 
I got my rack serviced by Charles too, and changed all inner and outer tie rods. Not only did it feels much better but it also eliminated my slight steering shake at high speed.
 
Can you share any tips/tricks you had removing and reinstalling the EPS? Great to hear you have had such a good experience
 
OE2 said:
Can you share any tips/tricks you had removing and reinstalling the EPS? Great to hear you have had such a good experience
Click to expand...

Stretch before you get under the dash!

Make sure you remove all wiring before removing the EPS, because its heavy. Factory manual says to remove the front crossbeam. I didnt and was able to squeeze it out. This video is very good:


I cant stress enough the advantage of having a factory manual. It is the best service manual I have ever seen. Flow charts, great diagrams and torque specs are listed in the diagrams!
 
I just did mine this winter with NSX Rack Repair. nsxrackrepair.com

HUGE improvement and the squeaking is gone! It's a bit stiffer than original, with the Plus package, but the drive is better and I think the longevity will be as well.

My 2 cents worth?
  1. Removing the cross beam/subframe as recommended in the service manual is way easier than smashing and bashing to get the EPS out with the crossbeam still in place.
  2. Did I mention I'm not a big fan of that video? All that work to avoid taking out the subframe? It looks to me like they bent a coolant pipe as well. Just take out the sub frame already. 2 more bolts and it all comes out very easily. The subframe is aluminum and weighs very little.
  3. If you don't have a lift, get some really tall jack stands to have room for you and the rack when it comes down. 24" worked well for me.
  4. Take lots of pics since it may be awhile before you're reassembling everything.
  5. There are 2 similar looking ground wires. Pay attention to how they're connected when you disconnect; it's not well shown in the manual.
  6. Make careful notes or pictures of the 8 bolts coming out. Right and Left are quite asymmetric.
  7. Make a careful note of where the washers go in the service manual. My washers were not quite right from from when the rack was changed by a previous owner in 2006, but if you think of what rubs on what in terms of not rubbing on frame elements during tightening and where you can fit a torque wrench and you'll see that the washer locations in the manual make sense.
  8. A couple of the bolt lengths are spec'd wrong in the 1995 service manual and would not be long enough if the bolts were to that spec. I put the bolts back the way they were and everything fit perfectly.
  9. If the wheel is not straight when you're done, way easier to fix it at the wheel than underneath where the column connects to the spline on the rack, imo.
Charles is awesome, even found me a terminal guard when the previous owner seemed to find it redundant, cheaper and way faster than the local dealer could have done it.
 
Last edited:
I don't think I am easily able to get the service manual anymore. There are parts of this site that are still not fully back up and running.
 
emac said:
I have a 97 NSX with 24k miles. I haven't driven it in a while and took it out to run some fuel through a couple of weeks ago. I noticed the steering was real notchy and vague, and not returning to center from a left turn. It has felt this way for a while but seemed worse now. I decided to send the rack in to Charles at rack repair.

Sent it on a Monday and received it back the following Wednesday. Installed it tonight and the steering is way better than I can remember. Super smooth. The returning to center wasnt much better and it seemed to pull left. I checked the toe and it was zero using my fastrax. I added about 1/16 toe in and that made a huge difference. I am going to ask around and see if I can find someone I trust to check the alignment. I haven't had good luck the last couple of years finding honest competent people. My area is pretty rural.

Just wanted to share my experience, and give a thumbs up to NSX rack repair. Great service.
Click to expand...
WHERE IS CHARLES LOCATED SO I CAN SEND MY RACK? THANKS
 
OE2 said:
I don't think I am easily able to get the service manual anymore. There are parts of this site that are still not fully back up and running.
Click to expand...
Service manuals are here in the Library:

Factory Service Manuals

As our NSX continues to age, it will become more and more important for member to be able to service their cars. Most Acura dealers no longer employ technicians who are familiar with the NSX, as the original techs are long gone or retired. As...
www.nsxprime.com www.nsxprime.com
 
I thought I would update this thread. After I installed the rebuilt rack, I had the car aligned and was still getting a pulling to the left issue. The EPS light came on and with the system inoperable the car drove perfect. I spoke with Charles at length, and he agreed to check out the ECU. When he tested it, the ecu would activate the rack motor to spin, even with no input. He sent me several videos of his testing. That would be the constant left pulling I felt. He is going to do some more testing on the ECU and try and determine what is wrong. Worse case scenario, I have to spring for a new ECU. Glad they are still available. Charles said he hasn't seen this issue before. Just my luck, but we are lucky to have a guy like Charles on our team!
 
I thought I should post up a happy ending to my rack issue. To summarize, I was having a notchy rack and pulling to the left. I had NSX rack repair go through the rack. Notchy was gone and the rack was super smooth. Still pulling to the left. Alignment didnt correct it. Sent the ecu to Charles and he couldn't figure out what was wrong, but based on his testing he was certain the ecu was causing the pulling. He offered me a rebuilt ecu for a fair price. Installed it and the steering is better than ever. What a great resource Charles is to the NSX community. 5 stars.
 
If you hear a little but of noise going from 12 o clock to 11 o clock is it a rack issue?

Or how does one know its a rack issue?

Can I drive it as is?

if it is a rack issue definitely want to use Charles service

But wondering if I can do it after NSXPO or its a must do now?
 

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