is there any adjustment to the rack and pinion itself to take out slop?

[Larry Hampton]

I've replaced the inner and outer tie rods and the outside bushings in the housing seem okay.

[skeeters_keeper]

There is some adjustment where the pinion engages the rack. The large locknut (30mm?) can be loosened and then the center part (10 or 12mm) can be tightened a little. This pushes on a small die spring that pushes on a bronze bushing keeping the rack snug against the pinion. You don't want to crank on it hard - just snug it slightly to take up wear in the bronze.

However, if you have play in the suspension this probably won't help. That's mostly for "slop" in the steering wheel... your rack most likely needs new bushings. PM me if you need a rebuilt rack, I have one more on the shelf.

[Larry Hampton]

I checked the bushings on the outer ends of the housing and they look nothing like pics you've posted before. I didn't feel any slop in them when wiggling, its an in & out movement. Which is why I thought of play between the r&p

[Larry Hampton]

I found this....

http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2878989

I imagine it's similar...

[skeeters_keeper]

Yes - very similar. Like I said, try adjusting the rack guide first and go from there.

I don't think I've posted any pictures of bushings...

[zoom zoom]

There is some adjustment where the pinion engages the rack. The large locknut (30mm?) can be loosened and then the center part (10 or 12mm) can be tightened a little. This pushes on a small die spring that pushes on a bronze bushing keeping the rack snug against the pinion. You don't want to crank on it hard - just snug it slightly to take up wear in the bronze.

However, if you have play in the suspension this probably won't help. That's mostly for "slop" in the steering wheel... your rack most likely needs new bushings. PM me if you need a rebuilt rack, I have one more on the shelf.

Heh so the big nut needs loosened first? Maybe that's why I stripped the little head on one of my racks! I'm gonna look into this further, thanks for sharing!

[skeeters_keeper]

haha... yea, once you loosen the big nut the inner part should turn easily. I've seen a few racks with the small one partially stripped, I guess from people trying to turn it w/o loosening the lock nut.

[Larry Hampton]

Ive got a couple spare racks.

[Larry Hampton]

The large locknut is bigger than 32mm, I tried 1-5/16" and its bigger than that. Maybe 36mm.

[skeeters_keeper]

I have a large adjustable wrench that I use, which is why I wasn't sure of the size. If the rack is out of the car (as it usually is when I'm working on them) I hold the nut in a bench vice and turn the rack. Much easier!

[Larry Hampton]

I'm going to try it in the car. But should I disassemble it to look at the parts? I mean with two other racks I could use the least worn parts. Or is it like the front spindles and have specific shims?

[skeeters_keeper]

No specific shims, and while you're in there you might as well pull the parts out and look at them. The only wear piece you will be able to get to is the bronze "rack guide" - I haven't seen one worn beyond service yet, but I'm sure it happens. Squirt some fresh grease down in there while you can. I like doing it off the car... flush it all out in the parts washer and pack it full of fresh grease.

[nitrofarm]

Larry there is a torque value for the preload adjustment. ie you tighten the nut and put a torque wrench on the input shaft and measure the resistance. But basically you want to "feel" the rack pop into the center position when turning the input shaft left and right,and this is going to be kinda hard if its in the car. With the steering wheel you have to much mechanical leverage to do this...

[Larry Hampton]

I could remove the joint off the input shaft. Do you know what the value is? I could set up one of the loose racks and get a feel for what that amount is. I don't really have time to pull the rack to do it on the bench, it's getting aligned tomorrow, I need to get the slop out tonight.

[zoom zoom]

This is good stuff, I'm hoping it will be the fix for the two racks I got laying around, the gear will twist in the housing. I put marks Delrin bushings in one and it would be nice if I could actually use it.