JJ291

1) Buy a Service Manual from helminc.com. If you do serious work on your car without one, you deserve every problem you encounter.
2) Follow instructions

Tips:
1) Called Majestic Honda and they said that it came with inner tie-rods but not tie-rod ends. It did not come with inner tie rods. Lesson learned is don't open the box Saturday at 5 pm like I did. Had to go Napa
2) Don't gamble with rounding out the nuts on the flare fittings for the in and out to rack - get a tubing wrench (14mm and 17mm). Like $15 for a set at Harbor Freight
3) Thanks to the forum, I did not have to pull the steering wheel/airbag - just used a seatbelt as mentioned and it turned out fine
4) Count your threads on the tie-rod ends and also measure the distance from the rack to the tie-rod end with a measuring tape so you don't have to get an alignment
5) Torque the tie-rod ends by holding with a crescent on the bolt and crows foot fitting on the tie-rod end. Remember to put the crows foot at a 90 angle so it won't change the torque
6) Make sure you have new fluid on hand. Fill reservoir, start car, and start pouring in fluid because it won't have enough. Follow procedure to bleed air (turn lock to lock a few times). The pump sounds bad at first but it will calm down and sound fine.
7) Buy the tie-rod tool at Harbor Freight for $20. It's worth it IMO.

I apologize in advance that I am a moron and cannot figure out how to insert the pictures directly into the thread.

Jack up car
Remove front tires
7826 - New steering rack from Majestic Honda
7827 - Use seatbelt to hold steering wheel straight and prevent from turning/damage
7828 - Remove steering linkage from pinion
7829 - Another shot of steering linkage with leak area from pinion
7830 - Remove resonator and air filter
7831 - Remove heater valve bracket
7832 - Remove bracket holding return line
7833 - Disconnect tie-rods with special tool
7834 - Remove plastic cover on passenger side with special tool (like $10 at autozone, saves a lot of clips)
7835 - Place the cover was located
7836 - Remove the screw holding steering rack in place. Shave arms if hair is getting in the way.
7837 - Another shot of the bracket. Not sure why I included this.
7838 - Remove supply and return fittings. Note the tubing wrench.
7839 - Remove last two bolts holding rack by the supply/return
7840 - Old rack. Fish it out by turning it up so the pinion is straight up and down and then pull it out the passenger side. Might need a hand because the tie-rods can get tangled and move separately from the rest of the unit.
7841 - New rack with aftermarket inner tie-rods. Here's an interesting find - one of the first inner tie-rods I bought from NAPA had the inner tie-rod WELDED onto the tie-rod assembly (if you can believe it!!!). I didn't catch it until I got home and had to return it and told NAPA, wth??! The guy just shook his head. They replaced it with something that looked a lot closer to the Honda ones. Pisses me off that I had to use aftermarket though.

Hope this helps!!

Thaik

How much did the entire steering rack cost and for what reason did you decide to replace it?

I'm having a knock in the steering rack but I'm not sure what might be the cause exactly.

I don't want to replace it entirely if I can replace the specific defective part.
Mine doesn't leak or anything.

Thanks!

JJ291

The steering rack was about $280 on hondaautomotiveparts.com. Still trying to figure out if there was a core charge.

My rack had a leak around the pinion (part sticking through toward the steering wheel). It was leaking under the car and when I put my finger through the firewall I could feel the fluid built up.

As for a "knock" in your steering rack - I doubt it is the rack. It is most likely your inner or outer tie rod. I would recommend you post this question on the Mechanical part of the forum and you will get more help than just me but what is causing the "knock" - turning the wheel? Hitting a bump?

Thaik

Really, only 280$ for the entire steering rack?

I'm seeing numbers around 600$-800$.

Here's what I see:

For the entire steering rack, I see the number 11 on the picture

53601-S5A-Y03 011 001 RACK ASSY., POWER STEERING
06536-S5A-505RM 011 001 P/S RACK, CORE ID HIGH MOUNT NO RACK ENDS (S5F) (Y0) (RMD)

It seems the number 11 is associated with two part numbers.

I did some inspection and I know it is not the tie rods because I have replaced the two outer tie rod ends and there's no play at all when I jack the car and wiggle the wheels at 3 and 9 o'clock.

However, when there's load on the wheels (wheels on floor), I hear a knock when I wiggle the steering wheel back and forth.

To me, it seems there's play between between where the the inner tie rods connect to the steering rack.

On EP3 models (7th civic SI), the common part to fail in the steering rack is the slider guide, a part made of plastic that connects the inner tie to the steering rack. We have the same part on our civic, and I'm suspecting that part.

Slide guide:

06538-S5A-H01 007 001 SLIDER

I have indeed post this problem in the Mechanical section of the forum but haven't had the opportunity to provide video feedback about the problem yet.

Anyways, sorry I'm randomly involving you with my issue .

I intend on replacing that specific part if it turns out to be the culprit, only costs around 20$ which is pretty cheap compared to the entire steering rack.

JJ291

See Attached - $288.34 for the remanufactured one. The more expensive one is brand new.

You're golden then - all you have to do is drive your car up on a a few 1 inch plywood boards stacked maybe 3 high, buy a $5 stethoscope at Harbor Freight, and have a buddy move the tires a bit while you pinpoint the sound from underneath. You may be able to do it from above. If you're turning the wheels while underneath make sure you use plywood that is wide enough and be safe. I've found several suspension noises this way.

Tragedy

iTrader: (10)

Good DIY

Thaik

I'm a bit still confused here, what is the difference between these two part numbers although it is pointing the same part.

53601-S5A-Y03 011 001 RACK ASSY., POWER STEERING
06536-S5A-505RM 011 001 P/S RACK, CORE ID HIGH MOUNT NO RACK ENDS (S5F) (Y0) (RMD)

I understand that the one you bought was the second one (06536-S5A-505RM).
Also, are you sure it is the re manufactured one or is it simply the price on Majestic Honda as opposed to dealership?
"List Price" vs "Our Price"

Also these aren't actually the price I'm seeing, I see instead:
List Price Our Price
439.73 307.81

Maybe because we don't exactly have the same models?
Mine is a Honda Civic 2004 DX, what about yours?

Thaik

Here's a better a better snapshot

JJ291

The price is different due to the models being different (2001, LX). However, the top one is a brand new unit and the bottom one is a remanufactured unit, hence the RMD on the back of the number. I asked Majestic if it included a core price and they said no. I took that to mean that I didn't have to return my core but upon receiving the new one they had the core return paperwork. The total price was the price on the right but if I hadn't returned my core they would charge another $150 thirty days later.

I'm not sure the the "list price" means but I actually use it as a guideline as to what I will pay at local dealerships. However, in practice, they are usually a little higher but it depends on the dealer.

JJ291

Thanks, Tragedy. I appreciate it. It was actually a pretty easy job but one I'd like to not repeat often due to the $$!

I had a severe vibration problem develop and fought it for - literally - like 6 or 9 months. Finally, ezone and Mikey1 got me out of it by changing my brake rotors back to Honda (spent a dollar saving a nickel on that one) and changing my tie-rod ends. Still had a very slight vibration and I was about to change my inners when I noticed the leak. IMO the pinion leak developed from the steering rack just getting the crap beat out of it for that long

Lesson learned - if you have vibration in you steering, even small, don't mess around, get on it.

Vibration is gone and I'm cruising now!

Thaik

Oh thanks for clearing that up!
But still, I live in Canada, shipping cost for shipping that RMD steering rack might be expensive, and I guess return shipping isn't included so I have to further dump some more $$ in order to return the core!

Me too, I used the list price as a reference, but here in Canada, I don't know about the dealers in US, the price are much higher at dealer ship.

I really hope I don't have to replace the entire rack because of the hassle of the shipping.
I would not mind if I was living in the US.

Thaik

It's funny, I just called Majestic Honda and they told me the same thing, rebuild has inner tie rod, new does not.

It's a good thing they don't charge you for the core when you buy it. Since If I ever bought the rack, I sure don't want the custom to tax me for the core!

tempduke

Hi,

I need to replace the steering rack on my 1998 Civic (dealer quoted me a price of $1100!!). I am planning to do this myself with a help of a friend.

A few questions:
1. In addition to the steering rack, what other parts did you need to get this done
2. Do you have the part number (from Majectic Honda) for the rack?
3. And how long did it take you?

Appreciate any help.

Thanks!
Sud

scr2000

Does anyone know if the "rack slider" part exists within a hydraulic power steering rack? And if so, can this slider be replaced without having to remove the rack from the car?