squeaking sound when steering

[skillz4587]

When turning the wheel, the car makes a squeaking sound. The steering rack was replaced a few months ago with a used steering rack. The reasoning for changing the steering rack was because the mechanic claimed the steering rack was bad because you hear a slight clicking sound when the vehicle is in park and you turn the steering wheel from left to right. The noise was not very noticeable to me but I figured it was better to just take care of the issue instead of waiting and it getting worse. When the rack was replaced you no longer heard the clicking sound but then again about few weeks after it was replaced I experienced the same problem which was suppose to have been fixed when the steering rack was replaced. I took it back in and there was not really a reasonable explanation for the reoccurring problem. So I just let it be since it was not really a major issue. Now the problem has gotten worse and I now hear a squeaking sound when I am driving and turn the wheel.

The mechanic now recommends that I just get a new steering rack,my issue is that I do not want to pay for a brand new steering rack and have the same issue reoccur. I am trying to see if there is something that the mechanic could be missing because it really doesn't make sense that the issue would reoccur and get worse after about 2 months. I understand that the replacement steering rack was used but I want to make sure that nothing was missed from the original diagnosis.

 

[Lucky Dog]

I think I have the same problem with my 1995 NSX. I only heard the sound while parking. My mechanic says that at low speed there's power steering assist that kicks in and the steering rack (if that's what you call it, I forget). He went to buy the part but it was $5500 and we both though it wasn't worth fixing at that cost (at least right now). It's just a small annoyance, I don't think about it too much anymore. At least I know what it is.

 

[greenberet]

On my car, the two pins in the cable reel that stick into the steering wheel caused a squeaking sound when the wheel was turned. If I remember correctly, those two pins have foam covers (like condoms) on them to prevent noises at the points of contact. Maybe they fell off if your mechanic removed the steering wheel and have caused a squeak.

Clicking noises can have lots of causes: play in the steering column itself, play in the joints that attach the column to the steering gear box, play between the bushings in the gear box and the rack, play between the rack and the pinion, play in the tie rods, etc. It's possible that whatever caused the clicking in the past was cured but that the new (used) part wore out in two months at the exact same point as well. But it's also possible that your mechanic didn't diagnose the problem properly in the first place. He has to listen really carefully where the noise is coming from and feel exactly where the play is occuring because it has lots of potential causes. If your mechanic can reproduce the click and show you exactly where it's coming from and if you can feel it too, then he's probably diagnosed it properly. If he can't do that, I wouldn't go replacing parts based on his hunches. I've wasted lots of money doing that.

 

[skillz4587]

If he can't do that, I wouldn't go replacing parts based on his hunches. I've wasted lots of money doing that.

Thanks, I will see if I can get a second opinion. He actually was not able to give me a reasonable explanation other then it being an internal problem with the steering rack. Another reason, I was hesitant to just blindly replace the rack was because he had misdiagnosed the problem with my window. He said I needed a new regulator but it was actually the switch.

I wish I had kept the original rack that he replaced :frown:

 

[NSX-SA]

I had more of a creeking sound in the same senerio it ended up being a dry upper control arm bush seriously i sprayed WD40 on the outside of the bush and the sound dissappered.