Steering bushing dianosis?

[davidf]

For the last 2 days Ive noticed a slight pop in my steering wheel when I turn either way. There is zero slack in movement but when setting still I can rock it back and fourth and hear/feel a pop under the front. {72000 miles} Ive yet to get it on a lift to look but was wondering if rack bushings are notorious for getting slack at said mileage. Also a very slight vibration has occurred also at mybe 55ish. Thanks in advance.

 

[qqqqball]

SOS urethane replacements for the win at 60$ for the kit

 

[RYU]

For the last 2 days Ive noticed a slight pop in my steering wheel when I turn either way. There is zero slack in movement but when setting still I can rock it back and fourth and hear/feel a pop under the front. {72000 miles} Ive yet to get it on a lift to look but was wondering if rack bushings are notorious for getting slack at said mileage. Also a very slight vibration has occurred also at mybe 55ish. Thanks in advance.

Just taking a stab here Dave...
Based on the threads i've read here it seems the inner left tie-rod tends to go out first. Hoping LarryB chimes in since he's probably got the most experience with these. I'm also assuming you're talking about the internal rack bushing and not the external mounting bushings which get swapped out often for the SOS ones yet no one has ever claimed that to have fixed their issue. If you get the tie rods checked out and they're fine then i'd send my unit to D1_Guy to get rebuilt. I just got mine back finally and so far so good. I just need an alignment.

The 55mph vibration is more likely a wheel balance issue me thinks.

 

[nikey22]

more info....

type of steering - assisted or standard
type of wheel - oem vs. aftermarket

also any noises that are strange?
any shimmy with braking?

agree.. inner left tie-rod first to go due to geometry of load on the car.

 

[davidf]

Outer tie rods are 2 years old with very few miles. I was refering to external bushings {hopefully} but I guess I really need to get it on the lift at work this week. Vibration didnt begin till noise started. Guess I expect the worst and hope for the best. RYU if it winds up the rack, I'll pm you for D1_Guys contact.

 

[d1 guy]

Feel free to PM me anytime if I can help. Thanks for the referral Ryu.

 

[davidf]

Feel free to PM me anytime if I can help. Thanks for the referral Ryu.

I will. If it needs it I'll be in touch.

 

[NSXCessive]

For the last 2 days Ive noticed a slight pop in my steering wheel when I turn either way. There is zero slack in movement but when setting still I can rock it back and fourth and hear/feel a pop under the front. {72000 miles} Ive yet to get it on a lift to look but was wondering if rack bushings are notorious for getting slack at said mileage. Also a very slight vibration has occurred also at mybe 55ish. Thanks in advance.

Have you checked the bushings? I will be replacing mine on my '91 they are showing signs of slight cracking. Not bad for 20+ yrs of service lol I do have a set of these I bought like 4yrs ago to finally will be installed in the coming weeks. :wink:

http://scienceofspeed.com/products/exterior_performance_products/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/steering_rack_bushings/

 

[davidf]

Have you checked the bushings? I will be replacing mine on my '91 they are showing signs of slight cracking. Not bad for 20+ yrs of service lol I do have a set of these I bought like 4yrs ago to finally will be installed in the coming weeks. :wink:

http://scienceofspeed.com/products/exterior_performance_products/NSX/ScienceofSpeed/steering_rack_bushings/

I am seriously hoping thats my issue.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I would be very surprised if this had to do with the mounting bushings for the rack. This has to do with the right side internal rack bushing that the rack slides on when it moves right-left. The steering gear is on the left and that limits the wear on the left side and maximizes the wear on the right side.

So if the bushing is worn the inner rack is hitting the worn internal bushing and making the sound.

My $.02

Regards,
LarryB

 

[RYU]

Just a quick FYI. I had a chance to drive the car up in the canyons this past weekend. I did a garage alignment that was good enough for a break-in run. The rack feels great!

Still planning on getting a proper 4 wheel alignment done and a track day or 5 this summer but I don't expect any issues. I'm glad I did it and i'm glad D1 offers this service.

 

[d1 guy]

I would be very surprised if this had to do with the mounting bushings for the rack. This has to do with the right side internal rack bushing that the rack slides on when it moves right-left. The steering gear is on the left and that limits the wear on the left side and maximizes the wear on the right side.

So if the bushing is worn the inner rack is hitting the worn internal bushing and making the sound.

My $.02

Regards,
LarryB

My thoughts exactly....unless he has an EPS unit....then were dealing with a different animal, but can still be fixed most of the time.

 

[NSXCessive]

I am seriously hoping thats my issue.

Well now that I'm thinking about it... I do not recall the rack making any popping noises but my OEM bushings are only cracked not as bad as the ones pictured on SOS's site. Maybe Larry is correct could be the internal ones.

 

[davidf]

I would be very surprised if this had to do with the mounting bushings for the rack. This has to do with the right side internal rack bushing that the rack slides on when it moves right-left. The steering gear is on the left and that limits the wear on the left side and maximizes the wear on the right side.

So if the bushing is worn the inner rack is hitting the worn internal bushing and making the sound.

My $.02

Regards,
LarryB

So whats the fix Larry. Remove and have rebuilt? Car only has 72000.:frown:

 

[davidf]

So whats the fix Larry. Remove and have rebuilt? Car only has 72000.:frown:

Also is it dangerous to drive for now as it's only a slight pop. Thank you.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

You would need to replace the end bushings in the rack. There were a few folks talking on NSXPrime about doing this, not sure exactly who did it, or will do it.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[davidf]

Well it seems I've fixed the problem. From time to time I swap out steering wheels every 6/8 months from boredom. Anyway today I went to loosin the screws and they were quite loose. Seems the ground wire was pinched between the wheel and hub causing them to slowly work loose:redface: but not enough to physically notice. I moved the wire, retightened, drove several miles with zero issues. Feels like new again. Thanks for all the helpful input from everyone.:smile:

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Glad you solved it, especially without rebuilding the rack. One of the key things for detecting this is to check for side to side movement in the wheel. I have seen this in the past on one or two cars.

Regards,
LarryB