Rack and Pinion Q's

[tsx1racer04]

Hey guys,

I had an accident a few days ago. My steering feels weird, I know there is something wrong with the steering. It's very hard to turn to the right and it veers to the left very easily. It makes a clicking noise when i turn to the left as well.

I took it to a mechanic today and he said the rack and pinion is bent. How can I repair the rack and pinion? I think its just one of the tie rods or control arm, but I have no idea.

Any help would be appreciated.

[Bigsyke]

odd, did he remove the shaft (4 hours) and inspect it? The clunking usually is a ball joint on the FLCA and the steering usually is the tie rod.

Its very very tough to bend the shaft on the rack, its 2 rubber seals on each end and 1 metal ring torwards the center.

[zugoi]

Did the mechanic tell you your tie rods are bent or anything? The tie rods are designed to break before your rack will. As for your steering problems it could just be your inner tie rods are bent and out of alignment. The mechanic could of been ripping you off telling you your rack is broken so you spend big bucks and he just replaces the tie rods and does an alignment OR he has no diagnosing skills at all. Just look under your car and see if you can see anything bent or out of the ordinary.

[tsx1racer04]

Did the mechanic tell you your tie rods are bent or anything? The tie rods are designed to break before your rack will. As for your steering problems it could just be your inner tie rods are bent and out of alignment. The mechanic could of been ripping you off telling you your rack is broken so you spend big bucks and he just replaces the tie rods and does an alignment OR he has no diagnosing skills at all. Just look under your car and see if you can see anything bent or out of the ordinary.

Nah, he just turned the wheel and said your rack and pinion was broken. And he said it was gonna be around $300 dollars. I was like wow, I'm leaving. I didn't leave because he said it was $300 dollars, I left because he didn't even take the time to inspect it.

I think he was trying to rip me off, I'll check all the tie rods and inner shafts.

Thanks for the input guys!! Much appreciated.

[FRoSt415]

check under the car to see if one of the rods is bent. if so then change it. its prob the tie rods the inner, and change the outers while you are their. o by the way u need a special tool to get the inner tie rods out and count the turns it takes to take off the outer rods so u dont put the new ones in wrong.

[tsx1racer04]

check under the car to see if one of the rods is bent. if so then change it. its prob the tie rods the inner, and change the outers while you are their. o by the way u need a special tool to get the inner tie rods out and count the turns it takes to take off the outer rods so u dont put the new ones in wrong.


Alright, sounds good. I'll start today, thanks for all your help. What kind of tool would I need?

[FRoSt415]

check it out. Lisle (LIS45750) Inner Tie Rod Tool # 45750: Compare Prices, View Price History and Read Reviews at NexTag (http://www.nextag.com/Lisle-LIS45750-Inner-Tie-78997506/prices-html?nxtg=94f60a1c0518-54400B87EF5F5663)

[Bigsyke]

What? your supposed to torque the tierods down to a specific torque setting, then use the locking tabs with some loctite red. Why would you ever need a tool? I pretty much rebuilt my whole rack with an adjustible wrench, thats all you need.