Xeryon Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 I've searched, I think my problem is the axles are bad/wearing out and it seems like there is more yet that I would need to replace. I can figure out how to do the work, I just wanted some additional opinions on if my diagnosis is correct and what else I should be looking at. This is on the 95 DX Sedan. To the best of my knowledge the parts are all original and the car has 205k. If I baby the vehicles operations everything operates 100% fine. If I brake hard there is a loud clunking/popping in the front end, specifically from the pass side. No noticable effect on actual stopping distance. If I corner with even normal velocity (not even aggressively) there is a similar clunking/popping, espicially if I am turning to the right and lesser so if I am turning to the left. Sound seems to come from both sides during any turn, its just louder on the pass side. It is not a continual sound, but rather a single or twice occuring sound when the vehicles weight shifts. Handling is espicially spongy. I know its a 12 yr old DX sedan, but there is a lot of play in the steering wheel and when I corner the amount the car turns respective to the amount you turn the wheel varies with every turn and it changes mid-turn some times. This is quite annoying as I turn the wheel the appropriate amount to turn but end up realizing mid turn that if I do not sharpy re-adjust my turn I am going to end up hitting someone head-on, which then requires a severe overcorrection as the amount you need to turn the wheel is not consistant. The onset of all of these conditions was pretty quick. Since I have owned tha car from January I have only driven it about 6-700 miles, but these problems sharply occured when I drove it on a 250 mile round trip vacation. On the way there I noticed these things to a lesser amount. By the time I arrived back home the effects were vary noticable. If I just need to take it in to a shop and pay the $50 or so diagnostic fee I will just do that, but why not post here first and see if I can get some answers and figure it out myself first? Thanks in advance guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted July 10, 2007 Share Posted July 10, 2007 sounds like lower ball joints are getting bad. also sounds like your lower control arm buchings are beat right out. an axle you cant miss dude , cut the wheel all the way both ways for the test at a time. drive forward with them cut. youl hear click click click click. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted July 10, 2007 Author Share Posted July 10, 2007 actually I went a completely different route. I called an old friend and asked him for some diagnostic help and he pointed me in the direction of the tie rod ends. I pulled the pass wheel off and tinkered with it: the main portion of the tie rod is not attached to the bolt coming out of the bottom. I can twist it around and lift it up and down independent of the bushing and the nut and bolt. It actually looks like it severed the bolt in the middle and gravity is the only thing keeping it together. They were cheap and probably the original parts, so I'm going to switch them in the next hour an see what I get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cranny Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 yeah thats bad , lol. tie rods it is , lol. twisting them is ok , but if you can pull straight up on them and have play , thats bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted July 11, 2007 Author Share Posted July 11, 2007 ok, replaced one. the only parts store that is less than 30 miles away never stocks sht for honda parts. figures they would only have the RH in stock and not the LH. Ill have the LH in hand in another day. After replacing the RH I have remedied the severe popping and clunking. steering is still hosed, but the LH end is also bad, just not as bad as the RH was. I'll hold out my reservations on the steering mess until after I replace the second one. For anyone that actually looks in this thread it was remarkably easy to replace the tie rod end. And now having done it once it could easily be done so that you do not mess up your alignment afterward. I definitely messed mine up a little, but it will hold in the mean time until after I have a chance to replace the suspension. I added a couple pictures, is the end supposed to do that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapaneseDomesticMarketGSR Posted July 11, 2007 Share Posted July 11, 2007 Yup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted July 12, 2007 Author Share Posted July 12, 2007 well, the RH one was toast, as it would lift up and down and all over with little to no force, the LH one didn't do that. It would twist a little, but only half of what the RH would move and didn't move up and down at all. So I had gone ahead and bought both side. I figure if one was bad maybe the other was too, especially since the steering was still so screwy. The LH wheel had almost an inch of play in it that I could twist it from right to left without moving the steering wheel. I pull it apart and I look inside and what do I see? The exposed end of the ball on the inner tie rod. The boot had torn off an obviously long time ago and that ball socket was dry as a bone and the ball was ground down with metal shavings and dust crusted all around it. The ball was almost ground down small enough to pull through the opening. Back into town I go to get a new inner tie rod end and a rack and pinion boot. The rack seems to have suffered no damage from the boot being torn as the shaft had still managed to keep a tight enough seal to keep the moisture out and the grease in. While I am at it, how exactly can I readjust my steering wheel? I only have a chilton manual and it is not the greatest. From the illustrations I can't tell where/how to realign the wheel. currently the steering wheel sits at about a 45 degree angle off of center. The car was not out of alignment though. After replacing all the tie rods and so on I will be taking it in for an alignment. is the steering wheel adjustment something that they will perform as part of the alignment service? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kastigir Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 well, the RH one was toast, as it would lift up and down and all over with little to no force, the LH one didn't do that. It would twist a little, but only half of what the RH would move and didn't move up and down at all. So I had gone ahead and bought both side. I figure if one was bad maybe the other was too, especially since the steering was still so screwy. The LH wheel had almost an inch of play in it that I could twist it from right to left without moving the steering wheel. I pull it apart and I look inside and what do I see? The exposed end of the ball on the inner tie rod. The boot had torn off an obviously long time ago and that ball socket was dry as a bone and the ball was ground down with metal shavings and dust crusted all around it. The ball was almost ground down small enough to pull through the opening. Back into town I go to get a new inner tie rod end and a rack and pinion boot. The rack seems to have suffered no damage from the boot being torn as the shaft had still managed to keep a tight enough seal to keep the moisture out and the grease in. While I am at it, how exactly can I readjust my steering wheel? I only have a chilton manual and it is not the greatest. From the illustrations I can't tell where/how to realign the wheel. currently the steering wheel sits at about a 45 degree angle off of center. The car was not out of alignment though. After replacing all the tie rods and so on I will be taking it in for an alignment. is the steering wheel adjustment something that they will perform as part of the alignment service? Any shop worth a damn will center the steering in an alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xeryon Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 thank you kastigar, I was hoping someone would comment on that. I'm going to be taking it in for an alignment next week sometime and would prefer not to look like a fool at the shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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