How to fix creaky/squeaky steering rack!
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.
.... 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.
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.
pics? what grease did you use?
I did this a week ago(cutting the the metal bands that is), amazing difference. I used Honda Super High Temp Eurea Grease though.Originally Posted by hotwired_78
To the OP unless you definitely need to find a way to seal those bellows back up.
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.
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
well in this case, I guess I have a squeaking issue when I step on the clutch. What does that indicate?
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
lube your clutch pushrod, figure it out from there. some say its the clutch master cylinder or something, im skeptical
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.
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?
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.
anyone has any pics of what this boot looks like or where it is located?..and where to get the grease?
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