anyone good at diagnosing.....

[Keeper1343]

suspension and steering issues??? I am kinda stuck. Maybe smeone can swing by and try to help me out

[pinacup7]

Whats the problem?

[Keeper1343]

well there is a shaking in my steering wheel that is coming from the steering. I check the movement when its in the air and it moves left to right like a tierod is bad. But the Tierods are new... Inner and Outter. The rack is new ( had the problem with and without power steering hooked up) I put a junker rack in too and still the same thing.

[Loserkidwac]

are the wheels balanced? Bent rim?

[Keeper1343]

wheels are balance.... That would not cause play in the steering. You know when you check for ball joints and tie rods, Yeah i did that and theres play in the steering.. can't figure it out and its been driving me nuts for a year lol

[z'd up]

put it up in the air and spin the wheel while holding the spring. if there is a bearing issue u will feel a slight vibration going through the spring.

[Keeper1343]

a bearing issue would be found in both ways of motion on the tire... up and down, left and right.... this is only left and right

[93rx7r1]

How about warped brake rotors?

[Keeper1343]

my god... It is PLAY left to right when the car is not moving and on a jack. No offense but i thought i explained it clearly

[Buster]

Ball joint maybe? I dont remember what the underneath of a civic looks like. Does the wheel shake while driving straight? I only say it because I have that issue and alot of people say its because the car is too low and the tierods are now inverted giving it a shake and horrid bump steer.

[russiankid]

I am having doubt its actually the steering. The steering will have slight play left to right like you mentioned. This is because you are moving the whole steering system which is designed to move in that direction. Check for cracked/rotted bushings. Bushings will cause a vibration like that. Also, what speeds does this happen at? If your alignment was previously out of spec, then aligned, the tires could have been chewed which cause this vibration. I know this from personal experience because my front tires got chewed when I drove for a bit after replacing the rack and pinion without an alignment. I then spent a whole day switching wheels from front to rear trying to find the best setup until I can get new tires.

P.S. I have a new rack and pinion, inner and outer ball joints, and I get this slight play that feels like a ball joint. I know for fact my tires are the culprit to the vibrations I get at 60mph.

[CleanNeon98]

I am having doubt its actually the steering. The steering will have slight play left to right like you mentioned. This is because you are moving the whole steering system which is designed to move in that direction. Check for cracked/rotted bushings. Bushings will cause a vibration like that. Also, what speeds does this happen at? If your alignment was previously out of spec, then aligned, the tires could have been chewed which cause this vibration. I know this from personal experience because my front tires got chewed when I drove for a bit after replacing the rack and pinion without an alignment. I then spent a whole day switching wheels from front to rear trying to find the best setup until I can get new tires.
He had an alignment done with one rack, then got new wheels and tires, drove for a bit, then put in a new rack and got it aligned I think the same day. There is a good bit of play, about the same as I have seen in f250 pickups.

[russiankid]

He had an alignment done with one rack, then got new wheels and tires, drove for a bit, then put in a new rack and got it aligned I think the same day. There is a good bit of play, about the same as I have seen in f250 pickups.

What about the bushings that hold the rack in place? If those are worn out, the rack could move a bit, but I doubt it.

[CleanNeon98]

What about the bushings that hold the rack in place? If those are worn out, the rack could move a bit, but I doubt it.
That I wouldnt know. I helped him put one of the racks in a while ago, the issue still continiues.

[ThePrimerSuspect]

i say wheel bearing. not likely, but possible. disconnect the tie rod from the knuckle and see if the play is still there. ive seen bad knuckles, where the whole bearing assembly has play inside the knuckle, not just the bearing itself. its rare, but if someone at some point was trying to press a bearing in, and it was not sitting perfectly straight and they just forced it, it would damage the knuckle.

[KingOfDelco]

wouldn't he HEAR if a bearing was bad too though??? he didn't mention any grinding noises.... idk.

within the last few weeks i've noticed a very similar situation with my steering/suspension. I looked as much over as I could, then had a dealer look it over (since I had an alignment done by a dealer after the motor was replaced under warranty)... they tried to blame the squirrelly steering/handling on my lowered suspension and wheels... except that I've had that setup for nearly 2 years, and never felt this before. I'm worried it might be my shocks. oh well, just have to keep driving to work until something breaks and is obvious to fix. :(

[russiankid]

wouldn't he HEAR if a bearing was bad too though??? he didn't mention any grinding noises.... idk.

within the last few weeks i've noticed a very similar situation with my steering/suspension. I looked as much over as I could, then had a dealer look it over (since I had an alignment done by a dealer after the motor was replaced under warranty)... they tried to blame the squirrelly steering/handling on my lowered suspension and wheels... except that I've had that setup for nearly 2 years, and never felt this before. I'm worried it might be my shocks. oh well, just have to keep driving to work until something breaks and is obvious to fix. :(

A bad wheel bearing may not always make note of itself by sound. A buddy of mine had a bad wheel bearing which didn't make any noise at all.

[z'd up]

a bearing issue would be found in both ways of motion on the tire... up and down, left and right.... this is only left and right


sorry but not true, ive had bearings that were just up and down or just side to side. ive also had em that didnt play at all. i inspect cars every day and u wouldnt believe some of the **** ive seen.

[CleanNeon98]

Lou, just take it to a shop to get diagnosed, you cant just keep throwing parts at the car with this guess and check thing you got goin. Ill help you put it all in when the time comes.

[Keeper1343]

I wheel bearing on a honda is going to move up, down, left right, not just 2 ways. Its def a steering issue. There is like a distinct noise kinda like metal on metal. But i checked all the bushings and they were fine. I just don't have time to take it to a shop. I don't get home til most shops close.

[Honduh]

Dude where you from? Swing by my place saturday and I'll take a look at it, and if I figure it out throw me 20 bucks. Sound good? Let me know.