Rack and Pinion

[-$MOKIN-]

Can someone clue me in on how i can tell if my rack n pinion is out..? I been searching and searching . My fluid level is low for sure but not totally gone and i raised both tires and i do have play right to left one side worse than the other. But i wanna make sure that its gone. I am thinking it is. \
When i hit a bump you can hear something bang pretty bad. And i did the ball joints.And it does jump the wheel to one side so i thouihgt it was a wheel bearing that i didnt do so i did that and it still does the same shizy



How in the hell are you supposed to know if its out or if the tie rods are just bad.

Get at me people . My CARS GOING TO HELL ANYMORE THE POR THING NEEDS MY ATTENTION. Shes been sitting for 4 months now .

[88Accord-DX]

The outer seal leaks on most rack & pinions with lots of age.. It's near the inner tie rod end. You'll see fluid around the bottom of the dust boot clamp usually. I usually pierce the bottom end of the boot with a small pick & see how much fluid comes out.

To check the innner & outer tie rod ends, raise both wheels off the ground & rock the wheels back & forth at 3 & 9 o'clock. IF you can have someone rock the wheel, get under the car & look for movement on the dust boot clamped on the inner tie rod end. For the outer, look at the outer tie rod end attached to the spindle for movement . I'd recommend having someone hold the steering wheel too, since you might not have an eye for what to look for.

[-$MOKIN-]

Sweet thaks for the advice ...
I lifted it up with noone there and u can see the inner tie rod boot move for sure. The drivers side moves more than the other.
So pretty much i wont have to replace the whole Rack if its just the O ring leaking a little ? My Fluid level is just low not totally gone and a slow leak doesn't bother me any .
I just don't want to do the inner's then find out the whole rack is bad.
I have 17 inch rims that u can see pretty much threw them so i can see the boot when i jack it up. And i did the 3 to 9 side to side and the boots move for sure.

[88Accord-DX]

It's not recommended to replace the outer seal in the rack & pinion. Looks like you'll need to replace the whole thing. There are P/S leak sealers, but I don't think they are any good.
Some rack & pinions come with the inner tie rod ends, some don't.

[Dr_Snooz]

It would be pretty unusual for a rack to fail by developing play. Usually, they start blowing oil all over everything. I don't think the inner tie rods are replaceable. The rack seals are replaceable...if you disassemble the rack. It's best if you get under the car and do a thorough inspection. Anything that wiggles when you pull on it needs to be replaced. Anything with torn boots or oozing fluid should also be replaced. Please don't use stop leak as it will eat all the seals and you'll have a real leak.

[88Accord-DX]

The rack seals are replaceable...if you disassemble the rack.

Probably not a good idea if you not familar with rebuilding a rack & pinion.

The worm gear usually gets slop in it too, as far as internal parts wearing out.

[NXRacer]

anybody have a diagram of the steering rack and how it bolts to the car?

[Dr_Snooz]

Section 18 of this manual.

[DBMaster]

The inner tie rods are replaceable. I have a rebuilt rack in mine. It must be a good one because it was installed in 2003 and now has about 130,000 miles of use on it. My mechanic uses a "place in California" for rebuilt parts like this. I should ask him about it sometime because they seem to do a good job. The inner tie rod ball joint developed some play in it after a few years so I bought a new one from Rock Auto. When I wasn't able to remove it with my rented tie rod tool from O'Reilly's I took it to the mechanic and he replaced it using my part. The play was gone, of course. I think the seals on these things just have a limited life span. No matter what you do, eventually the thing will go. Besides the rack, I have replaced the high pressure hose twice in the car's life. I also had to replace most of the low pressure hoses, the P/S pump shaft seal (twice), and the P/S pump body seals.

Almost forgot about the speed sensor. I replaced the big o-ring inside of it because it was also leaking P/S fluid.

Sooner or later everything's going to leak!