98Chilkoot Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 (edited) When my truck is parked and i get someone to turn the steering wheel about 10 degrees left or right i get a good clunk, I beleive the rack and pinion is the problem, thats atleast where i have pin-pointed it too. With my skid plate removed it seems that whole rack and pinion moves when the wheel is turned. would it make sense that its the insulators around the C clamp that holds the rack to the sub frame are worn and causing this problem, because thats where the play seems to be, but on the other hand it seems the sound is coming more from the inside the steering unit. I have replaced the following: -inner and outer tie rods ends -sway bar links -front struts, strut bearings -ball joints Any ideas/info would be apreciated, thanks Edited October 15, 2007 by 98Chilkoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
systemf Posted October 15, 2007 Share Posted October 15, 2007 I have had the bushings around the rack and pinion go bad causing a clunk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeysentra Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 I have had the bushings around the rack and pinion go bad causing a clunk. Try replacing the rack bushings before you go replace the rack. I think these will solve your clunking issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Chilkoot Posted October 16, 2007 Author Share Posted October 16, 2007 thanks the bushings are ordered and will be here thursday. I can get a used rack and pin. for 200$ worst case senario Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nissandoms47 Posted October 16, 2007 Share Posted October 16, 2007 have you guys had those rack bushings cause a horrible squeak? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vengeful Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 Nope. But, if your PS pump is on the way out, it'll squeal like a stuff't pig at lock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeysentra Posted October 18, 2007 Share Posted October 18, 2007 thanks the bushings are ordered and will be here thursday. I can get a used rack and pin. for 200$ worst case senario I have had rack bushings Squeek in the past. Not on the pathy but my Step Moms Escape. of course it was out of warranty so we sprayed a liberal amount of silicone grease around the rack bushing area and the squeek went away and has been gone ever since, about 2 years now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
98Chilkoot Posted October 23, 2007 Author Share Posted October 23, 2007 Well i changed both bushing for the rack and pinion, and i still have a pernouced clunk so tomorrow i will be replacing the rack and pin. with a used one for 200.00. I checked the small u-joints they seem to be tight. the clunk seems to be coming from the where the steering shaft enters the rack and pin. any ideas, if not i'll just replace the whole rack&pin. anyone else have to replace the rack and pin on thier R50? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
systemf Posted October 24, 2007 Share Posted October 24, 2007 Well i changed both bushing for the rack and pinion, and i still have a pernouced clunk so tomorrow i will be replacing the rack and pin. with a used one for 200.00. I checked the small u-joints they seem to be tight. the clunk seems to be coming from the where the steering shaft enters the rack and pin. any ideas, if not i'll just replace the whole rack&pin. anyone else have to replace the rack and pin on thier R50? thanks I have beaten the crap out of my rack and it has 200 miles on it and no problems. My intermediate steering box has some play, but I have a replacement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erathge Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Bringing back an old thread, but i seem to be having the same problem too. Has anyone pinpointed the problem? When the car is off and i get someone to move the steering wheel back and forth a little, i can hear a clunk coming from that area.. not sure what i should go ahead replacing etc.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I think mine does this too (moving steering wheel w/ engine off making a clunking sound)... does it really matter? Steering is fine otherwise, although I could use an alignment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erathge Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yeah, I guess it is just more of an annoyance than anything. If it was something simple though (easy to replace bushing or something) it might be worth fixing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I have never tried turning my wheel while the trucks off to hear a clunking noise but especially when it is wet it makes a loud popping or clanking noise. Also my wheel alignment tends to slowly move further to the left over time. I was just wondering if the rack and pinion swap helped your problem? or if anyone has some knowledge about this problem or how to go about diagnosing it please respond. Either here or im putting up a better explanation of the problem in another thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davisj35 Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 (edited) Hoping to bring this old thread back to life! Was anybody able to pinpoint the clunk occurring when the engine is off and moving steering wheel back and forth? On my 1999 Pathy SE the noise seems to be coming from where the steering shaft enters the rack. Looking at tie rod inner and outer, they seem fine and when front is on a jack and I do the wheel turn test I do not see a delayed reaction from opposite wheel. My left rack bellow was split. I'm not sure for how long. And I did notice one of the bushings on the rack was pretty soaked and seems to have "expanded. I might replace the bushings on the rack and see if that's the fix. Any help is appreciated!! Edited November 21, 2016 by davisj35 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted November 21, 2016 Share Posted November 21, 2016 Not sure about the clunk when off, I remember my dads r50 doing that, and he had it pretty much since new. The steering rack bushings are a problem on that side since the oil from the filter spills on them and over time destroys the bushing. I would replace those anyway. You may notice a little tighter steering as the rack won't shift around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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