Hello,

so my car has been clunking like hell when rolling over bumps. I had it up on a lift and asked the mechanic and he said the steering rack had to be REPLACED! We are talking a 2000$+ CDN job...

There is bad clunking and I thought it was a ball joint or end link but its neither. My inner tie rods are bad for sure and I can change them. Has anyone had a steering rack go bad or get loose? Could a steering rack adjustment fix my problem?

Thanks in advance.

 

Anything is possible, but I'd list that as doubtful. I'd get a second opinion. I'm betting it's the strut bushings or ball joints.

 

Hello,

thanks for your reply. I changed the LCA because I thought it was the BJ. I also replaced the outer tie rod since the boot was torn. What do you mean but strut bushings? The LCA has two bushings and the BJ in it.

 

I was referring to part #13 in the diagram on the link below, but it could be any of the top mounting parts. It could also be a worn motor mount

https://www.hondapartsnow.com/parts-..._absorber.html

If it's related to the steering rack, I would think it would be the mounting bushings(#23 in link below). I don't think the rack itself would cause a clunk.

https://www.hondapartsnow.com/parts-...r_box_eps.html

 

Hey thanks! I really appreciate it! I just had my left strut and spring out and the bearing was pretty scratchy. I doubt that it’s the problem. I don’t mind trying to replace the strut mount and hardware. It’s given me issues in the past since it’s so hard to properly torque that top bolt strut bolt (with the stupid Allen key hole).

hey if it’s just the steering rack mounting bushing, I’m hoping that’s not too hard to replace.

BTW: the Honda service manual says you need to support the engine on a hangar to drop the subframe. In the instructions, it says to remove the rear transmission mount (A/T only). I have M/T. Since I don’t have the A/T mount to deal with, do I really need to support the engine to drop the subframe on a M/T?

 

There's still a mount at the bottom rear that connects to the subframe. I recently pulled a motor from a manual Fit, so I recall dealing with all of the mounts. That said, I'd probably use a floor jack and a block of wood under the oil pan and consider it good enough. There are still 3 more mounts connected.

You're not the only one to struggle with those strut bolts. Seems to be a common issue. Any chance it didn't get torqued all the way and that's your clunk? I mentioned struts earlier because it seems when people have a clunk in a Fit, it's usually traced to the strut mounts.

 

so I took it to a dealer for a second opinion and the rack is indeed bad. The part in Canadian is 2225$! So I’m going for a rebuilt rack for 395. Labour should be about 3-400$. It’s the most expensive thing I’ve had to replace since owning the car for 10 years now so it’s not so bad.

next time the rack goes bad, I’ll try and muster up the courage to drop the subframe and replace it with a junker part.

one thing is that when I replaced a inner tie Rod, I attached the boot with a ziptie. The ziptie came loose so it’s possible contaminants got into the rack and killed it. The shop manual is very clear about not letting dust get into the rack so perhaps it was my fault for not securing the boot well enough. Perhaps this can serve as a cautionary tale. Next time I’m getting proper metal band clamps and the crimping tool.

thanks again for the advice. A bad rack can indeed be the source of clunking when going over bumps.

 

Interesting. I would have gotten a second opinion on the rack too. You don't hear too often of these things going bad.

 

Thanks for the follow up. Let us know how it is after the replacement and good luck!