steering wheel play

H

hatchboi

Experienced Member
Joined
30 September 2011
Messages
282
Location
New Orleans
i have some play from my steering wheel when the X is not moving. i did some research through here and found this thread about someone having steering wheel problems. his problems seem to be exactly what I'm experiencing right now and he seem to have found out what was wrong, which was a missing bolt. I'm trying to find the exact spot the OP stated where the missing bolt is on post #7. can someone show me where this bolt is so i can check to see if it is loose. i tried pming the OP but he hasn't responded so i decide to ask the people of prime.

here's the thread: http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php?t=163514
 
I see you are in Louisiana. What year and color is your car? I ask for a reason. My original NSX ended up down in Louisiana and had steering wheel play from an accident the original owner had. I am curious if this is the same car...which would be very spooky.
 
I have a black 95 t-top with 183,000k miles. Probably not the same one as this one has a clear title. I bought this one from a guy in houston, Texas.
 
Ah, steering racks and issues, how I love this topic.

If you have a little play in the steering wheel, do not adjust the nut on the steering rack itself as this just tightens up the bearings in the gearbox. I believe you will find most of your issue is in the drivers footwell. Pull the boot off the steering column and you will see the steering shaft and a universal joint that connects the steering column to the steering rack. There are two bolts that clamp that universal joint to both shafts. If either bolt is loose or the joint is not centered between the two shafts, you will get play in the wheel.

But I would certainly check your tie rods as with that kind of mileage, some things will wear.
 
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Bump
I wanted to bump this thread for the steering wheel play.

For some time I have been chasing some play in my steering wheel. It is was still within spec but it just bothered me more after driving Dave Anderson's car. Getting back in my car... even after replacing the inner and outer tie rods... his steering felt so much tighter. I was thinking I had a worn rack after reading several threads about loose steering and clunking. I bought one from a junk yard with low miles, checked the inner tie rods and started to work. Lucky, the first step is to take off the steering joint before you jack the car up. Unbolting the joint, I found that the lower bolt was loose. That's it. Ten minutes of taking off the steering cover and seeing the steering wheel stem move with the joint but not the steering rack stem said it all. Tighten the bolt and all is perfect again. simple

Long story short...simple things first...check the bolts.....see page 17-19 of the service manual. I need to stop buying parts. I guess I'll hold on to this other steering rack.
 
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When you take the steering cover off (see manual page) you'll need a light. Just turn the steering wheel slightly left and right to see if it turns the steering rack. Mine was the lower bolt
 
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chudson1549 said:
Thanks jwmelvin. This page.

With the cover off, try turning the steering wheel to see what turns and what doesn't. Just tighten the loose bolts
Click to expand...


Bringing up an old thread, but if you are suffering from steering wheel vibrations when you go at 70/80mph, stop spending money in balancing tyres!
I tighten these 2 bolts and the issue disappeared. It takes 15minutes total to do it. you cannot do it if you weight 200lbs and are 6ft. Or you may try, but make sure to make a video and share it with us.
 
HDA said:
Bringing up an old thread, but if you are suffering from steering wheel vibrations when you go at 70/80mph, stop spending money in balancing tyres!
I tighten these 2 bolts and the issue disappeared. It takes 15minutes total to do it. you cannot do it if you weight 200lbs and are 6ft. Or you may try, but make sure to make a video and share it with us.
Click to expand...

Heh, I'm 5'10.5 and 180, and I was able to change the clutch master. So somewhere between that and 6'/200lbs must be the limit :D
 
Hi guys, sorry I missed this. Usually folks describe this as a power steering issue, so I missed it since it didn't have EPS or something power steering related. What you're experiencing is the internals breaking down inside your rack. This is very common and will eventually happen to all of the eps units. If you have a moment, check out my page in the vendor section. Here is a link:

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showthread.php/194875-NSX-EPS-(Electric-Power-Steering)-Refurb-Service-By-D1-Guy-1991-1996-amp-1997-2005

My cell is 662-416-0900

Feel free to call or text anytime. I'll help

- - - Updated - - -

I should also mention that the tightening procedure will not help your issue. See, Hondas "torque" spec for the rack is a whopping 4 Newton Meters. Then you back it off 25 degrees then tighten the nut. That means that your "tightness" is confined to the internals of the rack. When you tighten the pinion adjustment all you're doing is making your steering shaft clamp harder against the input shaft. This causes excess wear and erratic behavior. Sorry, but I copied and pasted this to both threads to make sure you saw it. Thanks.

- - - Updated - - -

If it's the bottom bolt then that's fantastic. I've not ran into that on any of mine so I automatically know it's in the rack. If I can help, just let me know. Thanks guys.
 
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That link is broken...
[MENTION=28247]vivanshah[/MENTION] I am in your camp except maybe 1" shorter and 5 lbs or so heavier. I feel like I am at the limit... though I can always remove the seats if I need more room. Those pictures help a lot as well.

Would the car need to be lifted in order to test this?
 

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