Could be the gear lash is causing the noise. Is the column input shaft in good shape?

WRX will bolt in.

Cardone has racks that fit. Detroit axle, maybe.

 

Could be the gear lash is causing the noise. Is the column input shaft in good shape?

WRX will bolt in.

Cardone has racks that fit. Detroit axle, maybe.

Thanks cardoc. I have not looked closely at the steering column or input shaft, just the parts you see in the video out to the wheel, since it seemed like more of a suspension issue up to that point. Any specific things to look for? I am learning as I go and have never really messed with any steering components aside from doing some DIY alignment adjustments with tie rod ends. I don't know if this issue s something that's likely to progressively get worse and I could wait a while, or more an unexpected sudden failure mode. For now the car is parked and I'm driving others.

That's great to hear the WRX part is a bolt in. All the fluid lines, brackets, everything matches up then? I assume it's a different steering ratio and that's the reason for the different parts between the TS and WRX.

The comments and video itself that I posted of WRX rack replacement don't give me a lot of confidence in the aftermarket parts. I'm sure not all are bad, but enough to give me pause.

 

Have someone in the car to move the steering wheel back and forth while you check for play at the column shaft joints down to the rack. If they are tight, put your hand on the gear head and see if you feel the knocking inside.

 

I tried using my high ape index arms to do this by myself before I left for work this morning but it was a no-go. I'll have to enlist help from the wife and see if I can notice any excess play.

 

OK some other projects have had priority but last night I took a closer look at the steering shaft.

Turning right makes more subdued dull thud sound, turning the wheel back left causes a sharper, louder clunk. This is repeatable when you turn the wheel back and forth.

Next my wife sat in the car and moved the steering wheel while I listened, looked and felt. The steering shaft and ujoint seemed quite solid and smooth, and there doesn't seem to be any excess play or noise in those.

I'm still thinking it's in the rack and pinion assembly but I'm just not sure.

 

If the joints are rotating smooth in both directions, and the inner joints are not loose, then it's probably the gear lash in the rack.

Did you put your hand on the gear area of the rack while your wife was turning the wheel? Did you feel the pop?

 

If the joints are rotating smooth in both directions, and the inner joints are not loose, then it's probably the gear lash in the rack.

Did you put your hand on the gear area of the rack while your wife was turning the wheel? Did you feel the pop?

Thanks for the reply cardoc. I couldn't quite get my hand down there from above. The video shows my turning the wheel back and forth, and I think she was not turning it as aggressively.

I did try listening and feeling from under the front of the car while she was turning the wheel, and to be honest, while I could certainly hear it, I couldn't feel anything much of anything. It's been hard to isolate the source of the noise.

 

Mechanic's stethoscope. Generally the rod is long enough to get into tight spots. The parts stores carry them, or they are available online.

Mechanics Stethoscope

Amazing deals on this Mechanics Stethoscope at Harbor Freight. Quality tools & low prices.

www.harborfreight.com

 

@cardoc I have an update and (hopefully) resolution... as the only other participant here, thank you for the posts!

I decided to return to my original plan of replacing the front struts before I began suspecting the rack. I already had them and there was a chance they were the source of the knocking sound. It's still possible that there's an issue with the rack based on the radial movement I've mentioned, but not having another one to compare to, maybe that's just normal.

This weekend I put in the new KYB struts, new KYB strut mounts, and new Moog sway bar end links. I drove it after replacing the driver's side components, and the knocking / clunk sound appeared to be 100% gone. I finished up with the passenger side parts and that further tightened up the front end and improved the handling.

Since I replaced multiple things at once I can't be sure which part(s) were causing the problem, but I'm happy the car is back in service and working good. I'm glad I didn't pay a dealer $160 to diagnose and just did the work myself for a little over $300 in parts. My guess is it was the strut, but I never had one that loose feeling (when uninstalled) that wasn't coated in oil before.

Post mortem on 20 year old parts:

Struts never appeared to leak, but there seemed to be a looseness and knock in both of them when pushing / pulling the strut shaft. They were weak enough that they either took minutes to return to extension or slowly collapsed when sitting upright.

Strut mounts still turned but were notchy.

End links actually appeared to be in decent shape... I realize it can be hard to visually inspect these but there was no apparent bushing failure or anything falling apart.

 

That's great.

This is one of those things where putting your hands on moving parts while trying to find the source of noise, or using a stethoscope, helps to narrow it down and even pinpoint the source.

 

That's great.

This is one of those things where putting your hands on moving parts while trying to find the source of noise, or using a stethoscope, helps to narrow it down and even pinpoint the source.

Definitely. I actually have one of those mechanics stethoscopes and tried to use it under the car. It confirmed there was noise when racking the steering wheel back and forth but unfortunately I couldn't confirm the root cause of my problem noticed when driving.

I think this was one of those things where the suspension had to be under a dynamic load to replicate the actual issue. Also my diagnostic skills are not well developed but I'm learning what to look and listen for. In any case, I'm really glad to have the car back in service since it's been snowing since Sunday and this is my go to car for winter commuting.

 

Sounds like an opportunity to slalom around traffic. 😁