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View Full Version : How to fix creaky/squeaky steering rack!



salvatore
04-06-2010, 06:12 PM
Hey guys for the last 6 months i have been noticing a creaking nose coming from my front end. It would only be heard when accelerating from a stop light or braking and turning the wheel around corners..
Did some research and turns out its a common problem for us, many ep3s suffer from this exact same problem. Most ppl had their steering racks replaced while under warranty! My car has no warranty. So i had to figure out something.

Went to store and bought some with lithium grease spray, i got small sizzors ones to cut your toe nails with lol and i made a small pin hole in the steering rack boot. About 4, through the length of the boot and sprayed some grease in there and the creak is finally GONE! It was so annoying before.

Problem is the grease from factory dries out and the plastic slider inside rubs against some other part and makes a creaking/ grunt noise. Some new lube and problem is solved.

hotwired_78
04-06-2010, 07:15 PM
.... but now you have a hole in your boot. which will lead to quick breakdown of that grease you just put on it....

someone posted a DIY a while ago about clipping the retainers at the end of the boot, relubing the inside, and then resealing the boot with a zip tie. personally i would get with something more reliable than a zip tie, but it is still better than poking holes into your boot. the diy is now missing due to the recent crash though.

salvatore
04-06-2010, 07:42 PM
Hole is size of a pin head, like a needle. When u take lil spray nozzel out it closes back up. Im sure the grease will last at least 15 000km, imo its better than gettin a new steering rack. Either way all you gotta do it lube that shit up. Makes me kinda love my car more now that its not making a creaking sound lmao.

kaotic
04-06-2010, 11:22 PM
pics? what grease did you use?

2k3hatchie
04-07-2010, 05:35 AM
.... but now you have a hole in your boot. which will lead to quick breakdown of that grease you just put on it....

someone posted a DIY a while ago about clipping the retainers at the end of the boot, relubing the inside, and then resealing the boot with a zip tie. personally i would get with something more reliable than a zip tie, but it is still better than poking holes into your boot. the diy is now missing due to the recent crash though.

I did this a week ago(cutting the the metal bands that is), amazing difference. I used Honda Super High Temp Eurea Grease though.

To the OP unless you definitely need to find a way to seal those bellows back up.

Ep3kp
04-08-2010, 06:57 PM
I did this and it helped slightly, every now and again i still here creaking. Most of all i hear a clunking sound like something is loose in the driver side, still have to check it out yet. I just cut the metal bands and replaced with 2 1/2" Hose clamps wasn't very hard and i think the clamps are 10x better then zip ties and i dont want holes in the rubber boots. Also, a service manager at a Honda dear told me the best lubricant is definitley the spray kind lithium or silcone.

YohL
04-08-2010, 07:50 PM
Are we talking about a creak/squeak when we press the clutch? I usually hear the creaking sound when I press my clutch (usually 1st gear) but for some reason it sounds like it's from below my car. Is that sound actually coming from the steering rack instead of my clutch? Please clarify, thx!

hotwired_78
04-08-2010, 09:17 PM
Are we talking about a creak/squeak when we press the clutch? I usually hear the creaking sound when I press my clutch (usually 1st gear) but for some reason it sounds like it's from below my car. Is that sound actually coming from the steering rack instead of my clutch? Please clarify, thx!

are you talking about squeak or creak. those are two very different sounds. squeaking is your clutch usually. creaking is the steering rack... USUALLY... not always.

never make assumptions

YohL
04-10-2010, 07:25 AM
well in this case, I guess I have a squeaking issue when I step on the clutch. What does that indicate?

codyep3
04-10-2010, 09:34 AM
it appears that i have this steering rack problem, but it happened right after I installed new tie-rods from honda. Maybe it's not a steering rack problem. I should check if everything is torqued down

hotwired_78
04-12-2010, 10:19 PM
well in this case, I guess I have a squeaking issue when I step on the clutch. What does that indicate?

lube your clutch pushrod, figure it out from there. some say its the clutch master cylinder or something, im skeptical

GooseTKD08
04-25-2010, 09:25 PM
I actually tried this by making the hole VERY small. i spraied some lithium white grease (with the little tube) and still creaked until the next day it stopped after the grease spread in there. it works. i took the time to re-seal the little holes with some rubber sement which seemed to work just fine.

Squidward
05-02-2010, 05:41 PM
Does the noise happen when you turn either direction? My steering makes a faint, rapid clunking sound - but only when I'm cranking the wheel to the right. You really have to pay attention to hear it but it is there. Any thoughts?

chuck83
05-02-2010, 06:13 PM
lube your clutch pushrod, figure it out from there. some say its the clutch master cylinder or something, im skeptical

troof on the clutch pushrod

you can get to it from inside the car.. i sprayed the shit out of mine with white lithium grease and within a day the squeak was gone. been about 6 months and haven't heard it since.

tru3aznplayaz
05-02-2010, 10:13 PM
anyone has any pics of what this boot looks like or where it is located?..and where to get the grease?

jubaque
06-16-2010, 04:31 AM
having the same proble, but already replace the tie rod and still the same... sounds like the absorber/stering rack (dont know which one, it could be both) touching with metal :(

Eros168
11-14-2010, 07:59 PM
anyone has any pics of what this boot looks like or where it is located?..and where to get the grease?

i would like to know as well
thanks

beefed88
11-25-2010, 07:53 AM
open the hood and look on the drivers side near the firewall you will see the steering rack, carefully snip the clamp on the end of the boot ( I replaced mine with a worm gear hose clamp 2.5-4.5in), turn your steering wheel to the right full lock then spray inside the boot liberally. I ended up going back after a couple thousand miles and used a grease gun with standard multipurpose grease and pumping some into the boot and this finally fixed the creak.

DaveSi677
12-03-2010, 09:57 AM
Would it be possible to have pictures with some step by step explination? This could be a very useful for most EP3er in the near future!!!!!

LOVIN MY EP3
12-30-2010, 03:22 PM
Just did this today... I got the clamps from Honda went to the hobbie shop on base and I cut both of the clamps sprayed white lithium grease and also used regular whit lithium grease the driver side was easy because I had a sri as far as the passenger side I took me awhile but oem clamps are such a hassle... one you cut the clamps and pull the boot back turn the wheel and check the space between the boot... lets see how long it last before it comes back

EPo3Hatch
12-30-2010, 03:39 PM
Having the same prob...appears to only do it when driving over two hours

doubledouble
02-10-2011, 02:00 PM
open the hood and look on the drivers side near the firewall you will see the steering rack, carefully snip the clamp on the end of the boot ( I replaced mine with a worm gear hose clamp 2.5-4.5in), turn your steering wheel to the right full lock then spray inside the boot liberally. I ended up going back after a couple thousand miles and used a grease gun with standard multipurpose grease and pumping some into the boot and this finally fixed the creak.



I'm thinking the grease would be a better solution since it's thicker. Was that your experience?

blackcivic11
04-25-2011, 10:21 AM
Just did mine this weekend (the squeaking was really loud and constant) and now its completely gone!

JaydmEp3
04-25-2011, 05:12 PM
gonna be trying this soon. def gonna help. no noises at all. ppl post up pics. lol

eternal780
06-24-2011, 10:39 PM
anyone with pics? i woould love to do this to stop the noise

sippyyy
08-16-2011, 06:38 PM
Just curious what you guys are using to snip those factory rings around the boot? I can't seem to find anything that will do the trick.

sippyyy
08-27-2011, 12:27 PM
okay finally did this today. did the drivers side first. removed airbox, turned steering wheel all the way so that the boot would be stretched out and slid off easy after I got the factory clamp on. removing the clamps is by far the hardest part of this. I used a screwdriver and a pair of dikes to twist/cut/pull whatever I could in order to get those bastards off. once the boot was off, I sprayed white lithium grease all around as best I could considering the tight quarters. then I turned the steering wheel all the way to the other side so the boot would slide on nice and easy. then I used a 2-1/2" to 3-1/2" hose clamp, which should be easy to remove if you ever have to do this again. after that I did the same thing on the passenger side which proved to be quite a bit more difficult than the drivers side because you have very little room to work in. NOTE: may be obvious, but make sure your engine is not hot when you attempt this. squeaking was completely gone when I took it for a road test, but who knows who long it will last, it was difficult to get a good angle to spray the grease in so we'll see what happens.

AKAahlecks
08-28-2011, 05:19 PM
yeah, if i have the time ill try this too. but before i get to that, im in for pics!

brennaneli
03-10-2012, 01:47 PM
Would it be possible to have pictures with some step by step explination? This could be a very useful for most EP3er in the near future!!!!!

I second this. Pics would greatly help.

brennaneli
03-10-2012, 02:00 PM
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?131492-greasing-ep3-steering-rack

brennaneli
03-10-2012, 02:03 PM
5774
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthread.php?131492-greasing-ep3-steering-rack



"take off the metal ring (yellow), push the rubber boot to the side and spray lots of grease inside. turn you steering from side to side so u can grease the thing better. use a big cable tie to secure the boot back once done. repeat for the other side."

sippyyy
03-10-2012, 03:07 PM
5774



"take off the metal ring (yellow), push the rubber boot to the side and spray lots of grease inside. turn you steering from side to side so u can grease the thing better. use a big cable tie to secure the boot back once done. repeat for the other side."

yes exactly. the only thing I did different was use a hose clamp instead of a cable tie. also be prepared to remove your airbox if it's still there obviously.

Red_liner740
03-14-2012, 09:10 AM
Just did this to my EP. i had creaking whenever the weather would get nice. If you are going to do the hole in the boot, just remember that the slide shaft is surrounded by aluminum in most places, the access hole is only at a certain place. If you put the hole just anywhere and spray in, you will just coat the outside support not the inside shaft which is the one that needs it. Removing the boot clips and replacing with zip ties is a much better solution and only takes a bit longer. I just used side cutters to cut the oem ties off.