Popping Noise In Steering Rack

[jmo]

My newly aquired 92 NSX has a popping noise when steering wheel is turned. It sounds like it is comming from the rack but it is hard to tell. Prior to purchasing the car I came by some service records that included a new steering computer with in the past 5000 miles. I spoke with our local NSX tech and he told me that he has never encountered this problem before. Does anyone have any ideas on what this problem could be? Thank you in advance for your help.

 

[Veleno]

Check the sway bar bolts if you've (or the previous owner) changed sway bars to make sure they're tightened, as well as having enough grease.

 

[jmo]

Richard thanks for your thoughts on the sway bar. I took the car to my local Acura dealer and the NSX tech tells me my rack is bad. He says he has traced the noise to the interior of the rack. He also quoted me 6000.00 to replace it!:frown: Thanks again

 

[710]

Hi jmo,
I have designed and ordered a batch of quick racks (manual NSX) from Quaife (they make high quality racing gearboxes and steering and other gear stuff). They will be ready in about a month or so for about $1900 exchange. I will rebuild the racks with new bushes etc and with the quicker rack in it. It will be about 2.6 turns lock to lock instead of the super slow 3.25 turns stock. Other parts of the rack have been improved too (bushings and gears etc).
It will have adjustable end stops too giving about zero to 7 millimetres increased travel or zero to 20mm decreased travel (for you guys with wider wheels, to stop rubbing…) or you can still use the stock end stops.
I will ship from here and I also have a California outlet too.

If you can hold off until then, you’ll have a new rack.
I have a policy that if you don’t like it I’ll refund you and send your old rack back. I am confident you’ll like it though.
Here’s the link to NSX Club Britain where we talked about it last month.
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=973&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Please let me know, the first production run of left hand drive quick racks will be a limited number due to Quaife’s backlog.
Peter

 

[kclements]

My rack is an EPS rack as well. Mine has had what I call a dead spot in it since I purchased the car about a year and a half ago. With the car running.. I can turn the wheel from right to left and get a "clunk" as it passes by center. If you watch the tires while doing this they actually shake as you pass by the center point. I havent really cared all that much since it hadnt got any worse.. But it seems to be getting a little sloppy now and I think its lending to some front end vibration at high speeds.

You can purchase a used maual steering rack (non power) for about $300-$400

I am not sure what a used EPS rack is going for.. The maual rack is what most people tend to use.


Kevin

 

[NSXDreamer2]

Hi jmo,
I have designed and ordered a batch of quick racks (manual NSX) from Quaife (they make high quality racing gearboxes and steering and other gear stuff). They will be ready in about a month or so for about $1900 exchange. I will rebuild the racks with new bushes etc and with the quicker rack in it. It will be about 2.6 turns lock to lock instead of the super slow 3.25 turns stock. Other parts of the rack have been improved too (bushings and gears etc).
It will have adjustable end stops too giving about zero to 7 millimetres increased travel or zero to 20mm decreased travel (for you guys with wider wheels, to stop rubbing…) or you can still use the stock end stops.
I will ship from here and I also have a California outlet too.

If you can hold off until then, you’ll have a new rack.
I have a policy that if you don’t like it I’ll refund you and send your old rack back. I am confident you’ll like it though.
Here’s the link to NSX Club Britain where we talked about it last month.
http://www.nsxcb.co.uk/forum2/viewtopic.php?t=973&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
Please let me know, the first production run of left hand drive quick racks will be a limited number due to Quaife’s backlog.
Peter

Wow, very interesting. Anyone who track/race/autocross the nsx would have interested?? I would think the AutoX crowd will be very happy of the mod. However, I'm not sure if this would be suitable for the nsx on road course. Since, I believed the bigger ratio on OEM nsx is for the stability and accuracy of steering corrections??

Quaife makes its name in LSD in US. So I would think it would be a good quality product too, so is this rack going to make use of lighter, stronger material than the OEM rack too??

 

[710]

sorry jmo, I didn't realize you had an EPS.
NSXDreamer2:
Yes, you’re right, of course the track/race/autocross guys have to have this, but surprisingly enough (or not surprising to some people so I’m told) the quicker rack makes the car easier to drive on the road, which is actually why I’m doing it. I don’t track or race my NSX, I only drive it on the road. The modification is not extreme, only 23% quicker (2.6 turns lock to lock instead of 3.25 turns). Stability is better especially at high speed. Slow steering not what you want at high speed (racing cars never have slow steering). Of course the stock steering is not dangerously slow, as you know. Just a lot slower than other sports cars.
At low speed it improves things in corners, it’s more fun. And even parking is easier because the wheels turn more for less steering input. For that, about a 7% higher force (we tried to measure it, it was hard to measure...) is needed for each arm to turn the wheel. Definitely no problem.

I was shocked at how nice the prototype felt on the normal road. Shocked because I don’t know why Honda didn’t do this before. Anyway that’s why I decided to make this.
It’s a pity I don’t have one for you EPS guys. I have never seen and taken an EPS apart so I don’t know if it’s just a matter of replacing the rack and pinion. Probably is though. Does anyone know what’s inside an EPS rack that would cause me difficulty if I were to try it?

Materials: yes the rack is being made of better materials (but the stock materials aren’t bad. The stock rack is mass produced so some things are stamped etc. nothing more or less than we would expect). The Quaife rack is all racing materials and machining. It has a beautiful tapered middle to save a smidgen of mass (looks like a Formula One rack...), and the finish is up there with their racing stuff. The surface area where the helical teeth mesh has been increased a lot to improve seating (and theoretically have less friction) and the bushings have a much bigger surface area than the stock ones (which we found are kind of skimpy. Maybe that explains why some of us have loose steering at high mileage). Anyway that problem is gone now.
The stock rack housing will look the same from outside. Do you think I should do something special to it, like polishing the aluminum part (1/3 of the housing is aluminum), while we have the rack out? Or just black spray paint like stock? Let me have your feedback and I’ll do it for you.
I can’t wait to install one on my car (I only had the prototype on there before). I feel the stock steering is really too slow and actually unsafe when I slide the rear out (like in the rain but things are worse in the dry because things happen quicker. This rack will save me big money from a spin one day, I just know it). I don’t know about you, but to correct a heavy slide, I really have to get my arms flapping and waving around to get the wheel turned opposite lock and then back again. It’s not fun like on my other cars that have quick steering.
Peter

 

[Swiftscott]

Reviving this thread as my '95 is doing this exact thing. Just put it up on the rack and as I steer lock-to-lock there is an audible "pop" which I can also feel as a slight catch in the steering wheel. The pop occurs once each rotation as the middle bottom spoke of the steering wheel passes 6 o'clock. (it will pop 6 times on a lock-to-lock rotation)

Any advice on what the problem may be and the best solution for it would be appreciated.

 

[Valhalla]

Contact D1Guy. Serach the site and you'll find him. He can fix your problem.

 

[Swiftscott]

Valhalla:

Perfect. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction....After finding D1 guy and reading up on him I, of course, ended up at your thread.

Now I have not only the guy to fix my problem, but also your instructions to get my rack out and back in again. I love this forum.

I hope I get to run into you sometime to shake your hand. Without guys like you I'm dropping $7k.

Thank you.

 

[d1 guy]

Hello all. Just wanted to say thanks JC for the referral. Scott, I look forward to getting your rack and getting you back on track. Nice talking to you. I appreciate it guys.

 

[Valhalla]

You're in good hands with Matt. Good luck and post up the results.

 

[Swiftscott]

Update:

After removing my steering rack (about 2 hours using Valhalla's instructions) I shipped to D1 Guy (Matt) along with a certified check for the repair. D1 Guy had already called me to confirm timeframe, cost, and that the problem I was experiencing could be fixed.

D1 Guy emailed me when the rack arrived, and updated me on progress, and sent another email that is was shipping back to me. It arrived last Wednesday looking MUCH cleaner then when I sent it. I had it back installed in about 90 minutes. No real issue getting it back in or getting the steering wheel centered. I did make sure both grounds under the car had good, clean contact surfaces. Then I double-checked everything as I really, really don't want a steering failure at speed!

Result? ULTRA smooth steering wheel movement. The popping noise and feel are 100% completely gone and my NSX is now pure pleasure to drive.

My only regret is that I didn't diagnose the problem more quickly so I could have had it repaired over the winter instead of during driving season! But the wait the past couple of weeks has been totally worth it.

Refreshing to be able to work with honest, ethical folks here on PRIME. Thanks D1 Guy for saving me THOUSANDS and getting my dream car back to driving like a dream.

p.s. despite the 2 month gap in posts, the repair took just a couple of weeks, I just didn't send the rack until I was going to be out of town for vacation. Also, I am not posting the cost as some repairs are mechanical (bearing) some electrical, and some both. I will tell you the difference in using D1 Guy over buying a rack from Acura was MANY thousands of dollars in my case and feel like it was money very well spent.