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Power Steering Rack Rebuild - Part 1 of 3

No worries RYU. I understood that when I opened this thread every owner with any steering rack issues would be chiming in. It's good to talk about all of these things but probably ought to be split into two separate topics.

The first topic, that I started, was with D1Guy in mind, to repair the EPS. That should cover all automatics and all '96's and up. There are many an owner that this would interest. That is what this thread is about.

If D1Guy wants to now create his own thread, that is up to him. If he wants to split the thread between EPS and Manual Racks, that is also up to him. But I do agree with him that snowballing everyone's issue into this thread will derail the original intent.

D1Guy stated that he has access at bushing and production. Way cool. But that is down the road and entirely up to him. Again, his tread. But let's wait until he pulls my rack apart and documents what he has found, what he can fix, test and make sure it all works. if he finds bearing problems, he can address and make recommendations at that time.

D1Guy, time for you to start Part 2?
 
Thanks Valhalla. I agree with your statement above. I also believe that, at this point, I am confident that we can handle just about any issue with these racks. I will be ready for part two when your rack arrives. It will be fully documented.

For everyone else, please understand what we are doing, is not for the faint of heart. I have a lot of knowledge about these cars but my close friend and partner in this NSX study is the absolute best when it comes to electronics and trouble shooting. I must stress that the torque sensor is a nightmare. It takes about 4 hours alone just getting to the circuit board due to the vac. sealed goop inside it. This is after you remove the rack from the car. Once you get all of that out to get to the board, it is a duplex board meaning you have one board soldered on top of another. It is crazy how advanced Honda was/is.

Rest assured, if you let me work for you, it will be done properly. We've been in business since 1975 and at our current location since 1985. I am one of the most picky and professional persons on the planet. If it doesn't suit me and doesn't work perfectly when I test it on my car, i won't be satisified until it does.

Thanks again everyone.
 
^^^
And this is why I love this guy! And you will too.

D1 - if you want to publicly document the rebuild of my rack, I have no problem with you showing my Mistresses' most holy parts undressed!:tongue:
 
Understood. You worked hard to make this work and you should profit from it. Just as long as you are not a pharmaceutical company, with their profit rates, I'm sure the Prime community will beat a path to your door.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Valhalla
 
Happy Thanksgiving. We all have lots to be thankful for. I think what will be best is that I share several photos of before and after with small details to the public. The rebuild itself, personal details, internal photos, etc should be shared between the client and I. I will even do a YouTube video of the eps light going out for the client :)
 
Last edited:
I don't mean to hijack the thread but i've got a 2004 EPS rack(RHD) i can buy from England.
I think it's out of a maual car.
I'm thinking this EPS should be the same as a 94 nsx(EPS was factory in the Australian manual nsx in 94).
Can anbody confirm this?
 
Nero Tenebre said:
My EPS rack has a slight "hop" on center when turning it left or right which wasn't that big a deal but now it feels looser too. I do need to replace my outer tie rods but I am not sure if that is responsible for the looseness (I doubt it). I replaced the external bushings awhile back but I don't know that I am having problems with internal bushings, just that the shop said they can't get the bushings (meaning internal). I know other owners who have developed this same hop problem with their EPS, and like you, I found that no one would touch them so it will become a problem for all of us owners sooner or later. However, I do think people will rebuild the manual racks and I think I am going to switch out to the manual rack due to the low mileage on it and weight reduction... but, I would like to know if the EPS rack can be fixed either for sale or just to have options from which to choose.

RYU, I think the manual steering racks are less expensive than the EPS units by far.. aren't they??
Click to expand...

Ok, I think I have this too. When you are center, if I turn wheel to right slightly and back left I feel a slight click or "hop" as you put it. Like play in steering or a skip. You guys are saying its a bushing?
 
d1 guy said:
I have confirmation that we can provide the bushing service. Valhalla's rack will have a replacement bushing. There is no point in taking it apart and not replacing a wareable part. I will keep you all updated. I'll know more about pricing soon.
Click to expand...

Very interested!!! Let me know if you would sell the part as well...
 
Im still in the process of sorting everything out. I will most likely offer the repair here in my shop and depending on how much interest we have, that will determine which direction we go with this. Thanks.
 
Well, we spent a lot of time on my car today. I am now confident that instead of sourcing out the bushings, we will fabricate them ourselves. With that said, we can handle both manual and power steering racks.

I am also confident that instead of cleaning the brushes inside, we will be completely replacing them. That way, if we repair your rack, we can gaurantee it and know exactly whats inside it when we send it back to you. We will also be more than willing to take your whole car in instead of just the rack. Eitherway we will gaurantee it to work properly when installed correctly.

Valhalla, your rack is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. I will keep you all posted.
 
Pricing for the above services? Manual vs power rebuild? Most likely not practical to send the whole car but could send the rack.. Thanks!
 
d1 guy said:
Well, we spent a lot of time on my car today. I am now confident that instead of sourcing out the bushings, we will fabricate them ourselves. With that said, we can handle both manual and power steering racks.

I am also confident that instead of cleaning the brushes inside, we will be completely replacing them. That way, if we repair your rack, we can gaurantee it and know exactly whats inside it when we send it back to you. We will also be more than willing to take your whole car in instead of just the rack. Eitherway we will gaurantee it to work properly when installed correctly.

Valhalla, your rack is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. I will keep you all posted.
Click to expand...
This is encouraging. A few other vendors offer the rebuild but frankly I don't know what i'm getting. Have you opened/refurbed a manual rack before? Also, are you really making the bushings yourselves? You guys have a mold for that? If so, i'm really impressed!
 
Tuesday, sweet! I've got so many other things I'm working on now that the car is up in the air;

  • Replacing battery cables (with Ox-Guard)
  • Fabricating radiator and AC/brake duct grills
  • Fabricating engine intake grills
  • Turning front rotors
  • Installing remote club radio with hands free
  • Trouble shooting an O2 sensor and circuit
  • Installing a turbo......:eek:. That arrives Tuesday too.
I just might have this back on the ground and running by Xmas. What a present this will be.
 
EZdoesIt said:
This is encouraging. A few other vendors offer the rebuild but frankly I don't know what i'm getting. Have you opened/refurbed a manual rack before? Also, are you really making the bushings yourselves? You guys have a mold for that? If so, i'm really impressed!
Click to expand...

We're making the injection mold ourself. I am really picky and very very detailed when it comes to my clients. You will get step by step procedures through email or PM if you decide to let me do it.
 
Nero Tenebre said:
Pricing for the above services? Manual vs power rebuild? Most likely not practical to send the whole car but could send the rack.. Thanks!
Click to expand...

We're still in the infant phase here. I will have prices soon. PM me if you'd like a few more details
 
Boo.. too bad I had already made arrangements to have mine rebuilt before I saw this. As mentioned above, we have no idea what they're doing when sent to a rebuilder.

FYI for those with a manual rack, it took about 1.5hrs to casually pull the rack out. 20 minutes of that was spent getting the car on stands and 10min to make and pack a shipping box. Level of difficulty was very low and the rack itself is in the 15lbs range. Easily dropped down without a jack / supports.

The only potentially tricky part was having the right size extension / deep socket to reach the upper bolts on the rack. Some are too long, some are too short... I found a 3/8" wobble joint + short socket with a cheater bar on the ratchet to be the only thing that would work
 
d.n said:
Boo.. too bad I had already made arrangements to have mine rebuilt before I saw this. As mentioned above, we have no idea what they're doing when sent to a rebuilder.

FYI for those with a manual rack, it took about 1.5hrs to casually pull the rack out. 20 minutes of that was spent getting the car on stands and 10min to make and pack a shipping box. Level of difficulty was very low and the rack itself is in the 15lbs range. Easily dropped down without a jack / supports.

The only potentially tricky part was having the right size extension / deep socket to reach the upper bolts on the rack. Some are too long, some are too short... I found a 3/8" wobble joint + short socket with a cheater bar on the ratchet to be the only thing that would work
Click to expand...

Ah too bad. I talked to one manual rack rebuilder and he specifically told me that he charges $750 to "fix" the rack whether it's a bad bushing or whatever. He didn't even rebuild it. He just fixed what was worn out and sent it on its way. That's sad.

Oh, and might I add, the EPS rack removal isn't very time consuming either.
 
Very interested in this thread. Within the last year, I took the plunge and had my EPS rack replaced with a new rack, due to play in the steering wheel. This is a very expensive job, but I have the original, "can't-be-fixed" rack here at home sitting in the garage. I would be interested in doing a rebuild if this project is as good as advertised! Keep up the great work!
 
Ok. So far here is what I can offer

On eps rack
inspect torque sensor- repair if needed
Replace motor brushes
Clean motor commutator
Replace bushings (internal/external)
Clean motor contacts if needed
Replace tie rod ends if needed
Replace boots

On eps control unit (if needed)
Replace relays
Replace MOSFET transistors
Replace diodes
Inspect and repair if needed.

On Manual rack:
Replace external bushings from honda/acura or your choice.
Replace internal bushing (the long one inside the shaft that Honda doesn't offer)
Inspect/replace tie rod ends if needed
Replace boots if needed.

Everything mentioned above will be shown step by step with pictures to each client. You will be able to have peace of mind that your rack will work correctly with new clean parts. This is not some gigantic shop that does hundreds of different racks. We are specializing in the NSX only. I have personally owned 4 of these cars and I understand your passion for this automobile because I share that passion with you.

If you do not provide your car, your rack will be tested on personal car. This allows me to gaurantee our work. You will also be provided with a YouTube video of the eps light going out if you have that sort of issue.

I will have pricing available soon. Thanks again everyone.
 

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