steering issues

[adymeblack]

So I just had my matainence manager at work (I work for a car rental company) tell me that it is the rack, I looked under the hood and it was popping in the dead center of the rack. So yeah, some were right, others were wrong.

But I appreciate all the help and ideas as to what it was, ill update as soon as I get it fixed to let you know how it turns out

[bmxfelon420]

actually i had a problem once when i was going to make a turn where one of my calipers was kinda sticking in it's position, so that side made a wierd noise. I came to a complete stop, took off again and it quit. I really need to unbolt the calipers and regrease the bolts. :P

[adymeblack]

im just trowing thoughts out.. lol jus so yuh know but how about the hubs? i know my passenger side needs replaced and i just orderd new upper and lower ball joints.. idk you'd have to get it up and just wiggle/turn stuff and see where your at, i lifted mine up an had my wife turn the wheels to see why mine was so loose.. helps if you got someone helping you lol

anyone know how to get the steering back to the center? i can do a normal turn when i turn right, but left dosent go as far.. idk lol

No worries dude, that's how stuff gets figured out, collaboration is the key to problem solving

[PassnThru]

yeah if it wasn't for the acura forum for my legend id be about screwed lol

[adymeblack]

Got the parts to fix the front end today, have to wait till the end of the week to actually do the work though....

[adymeblack]

So I was attepmting to remove the rack and pinion today and after quite the struggle with the power steering lines......i was able to remove the mounting bolts to remove the rack.

Naturally, i have run into a problem. I can't get the rack to come out because the gear that connects to the steering wheel won't come out. It looks like i need to make about another inch or so of room and I can't think of how do get it out.

Any ideas?

[wed3k]

have you disconnected the coupler from the steering wheel shaft?

[adymeblack]

sure did

[PassnThru]

they way i did it was pretty simple.. (other then gashin my neck on a cotter pin lol)

but remove the nuts that hold the steering wheel/shaft in place and let it hang also follow the shaft from the wheel to the floor and in between there is another bracket.. (two 12mm bolts i think) you can just loosen it or remove it (i loosened it to make it easyer to install back) then pull the steering will to you (if you were sitting on the seat) and it will disengage the shaft to steering gear.. might have to wiggle and turn.

the best way to remove the rack it self, (after draining fluids and disconnecting tie rod ends and removing drivers) is to push the drivers side "arm" in towards the passenger and then wiggle/wedge the rack out.. its a pain but IMO it has to be done..

i would highly recommend a wheel alignment after haha :P

hope this helps man, if your confused i can snap some pics for yuh

edit: good idea to drop the down pipe from the exhaust manifold and the bracket on it to make room for the rack to drop

[batever]

Sometimes when i make a right turn, i can hear something grinding/rubbing, sounds metallic like brakes grinding. But it will happen weather or not i am actually using the brakes.

The metal backing plate on your brake pads could be bent or canted out of alignment with the pad. Sometimes that causes a sound like that when turning. It did for me, then when I changed my pads last spring the sound went away *like that*. It was because the pads were worn so low that the pads could kind of travel laterally in their recessed mounting area and the metal backing could flop around a little behind them.

It was either that or the pads themselves lightly dragging on the discs. They were really loose in their mounting area because they were worn so thin and it's conceivable they could have been flopping sideways into the disc at times besides the normal light pad brushback contact on the disc.

Actually, that brake caliper slide pin on that side was jammed in part of its travel when I pulled it out (due to a failed rub ber boot/water ingress and resulting rust in the piston bore) , so I think maybe the pad was rubbing against the disc and the backing plate was vibrating/amplifying the sound along with it and making the rattling sound/scraping sound.

All I really know is, I changed the pads out and the sound was gone.

[batever]

actually i had a problem once when i was going to make a turn where one of my calipers was kinda sticking in it's position, so that side made a wierd noise. I came to a complete stop, took off again and it quit. I really need to unbolt the calipers and regrease the bolts. :P

yes, that's basically what I was talking about as well, in combination with extremely worn pads (so worn that I wonder if they could just drop out of the caliper on their own) and resultingly loose backing plate. Cleaning and regreasing the slide pin was necessary along with new pads in my case.

OP, you need special brake caliper grease for those pins as they get way too hot for other kinds of grease. Autozone sells them in little packets for $1.50 or you can get a lifetime supply like me for $9.00.

[adymeblack]

all right, i'm gonne try and wiggle/wedge the rack out and get this fixed. let's see how it works out.

*edit
I don't think it's the brakes, the pads are new, however another problem has arisen (i'm noticing a lot of these...) with the brakes.
See this thread if you want to read about that adventure...
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?p=2465318

[adymeblack]

Could a failing master cylinder cause the noise and such in the brakes?

[adymeblack]

uggg i can't get the bolts on the cat to come loose, they have to be some weird size or something, a 13mm is too small, while a 14mm is too big, should i try a 1/2 or 9/16?

[Puertorican CB7]

Go for it, as long as they don't strip the blot!!!

Just give em some good amount of torque and they will come loose... when all else fails I warm them up with my torch and they come out quick and easy...