Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

So lately my steering has felt like complete garbage. Six months ago, I was on a backroad and went off the road but didn't bend or break anything, structurally other than the bumper, but this may have been the start of my problems.

My steering feels incredibly light, and no it's not the tires or tie rods, because on my brother's 8th gen Civic with the same tires, steering is heavier than mine by a lot currently. I have narrowed it down to the power steering itself, but can't determine what. Now my power steering has intermittently failed a few times on startup over the last few weeks, but it's extremely intermittent. I replaced the wiring harness two years ago, so I don't know if it could already be bad again? Anyways, my steering feels extremely light and the wheel shakes like a centimeter back and forth on the freeway, but the car tracks completely straight when I let go of the wheel. I unplugged the power steering and drove around, and something still feels off in the rack. I don't think my steering is really binding, so I'm not certain the u-joint is the issue. I'm wondering if something broke inside the rack itself on the impact 6 months ago although the rack was never actually hit or bent. I'm thinking if this is the case, the rack may be over compensating for something broken and making the steering extremely light.

Wondering if anyone has any ideas on what could be my issue? Wondering if I should start looking for a rebuilt steering rack?

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

Anyone?

dannobre

iTrader: (3)

Have you checked the tie-rod ends? If they are getting worn out the steering will feel wobbly..other than that the rack itself could be worn...but another thing that can make the steering feel funny is if the alignment is out. If you wacked the wheel hard enough to toe out the front a bit it can make the steering feel twitchy

If the rack wasn't working your arms would notice ...

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

My power steering has been failing intermittently, but a lot lately. Like it's inconsistent when it'll fail, but like today, I had it fail three times on startup. I cleaned the connectors and it works again, but I'm pretty sure it'll fail again in the next day or so. I'm going to try and solder the connectors this weekend to fix it.

Other than that, when the power steering works, it's VERY light, to the point where most people would misjudge inputs. My mind is already trained to know how much input to give, so it's never made me almost crash, but it just feels disgusting.

Inner and outer tie rods were replaced two months ago, as well as front swaybar endlinks and everything is tight. It was aligned right after and everything is in proper spec for the numbers I requested. It tracks perfectly straight, and all the wheels are balanced, which makes me suspect the issue is electrical. The lower steering u-joint fine because when I turn the wheel very slightly (like an inch or less back and forth), the wheels respond fine. On my way home tonight with no power steering, it obviously felt very heavy, but it seemed like everything was fine when moving.

I guess the wiring harness is bad again (replaced it two years ago), but that shouldn't cause the steering wheel to slightly shake back and forth (doesn't do it without power steering) on the freeway, yet track straight.

Anyone know what could be causing this excessively light steering? How do I tell if the power steering motor is potentially failing (there's no noise)? If anyone has any ideas, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

Suspension

If your wheel is shaking back and forth on the highway, maybe you broke a tooth on the steering rack. Are you sure all your A-Arm bushings are ok?

Wheel offset makes a big difference in steering feel. And you can't compare your steering feel to your brother's Civic...completely different geometry and power steering system.

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

I know you can't directly compare them, but when my car has always been noticeably heavier, something is up. Like I want to say my mom's SUV might have a heavier feel on econo tires. It's actually that bad. Lol

So I noticed today that I might have over exaggerated the shakiness of the wheel, or it's really that intermittent. It would oscillate back and forth maybe a few mm at most, but I'm pretty sure it's related to the power steering because I don't feel anything really wrong in the rack. The rack itself doesn't shake. The bushings are fine as well. I took a crowbar and pried on all of them and they all return to their initial position just fine. I had my whole suspension looked at a few months back (not extensive examination. They just checked the balljoints, etc) and they said everything was fine. I had been checking weekly for some other problem until I found out my endlink was loose.

Back to the power steering though... I read on another forum, since no one seems to know my issue, that it's probably my the EPS control module, but IDK how to test that, and I don't want to just throw money at parts to guess my problem. Almost certain the issue is electrical, not mechanical, unless something is bad and the power steering itself is compensating?

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

I would check both A-arms to see if they are actually straight.

and for the electical problems, ur Steering rack might be bad. I wouldn't surprised if it is cuz our 8 is aging, and Mazda is notorious for "crap" electrical components.

as far as I remember, if u replace the EPS module, u have to get dealership to "introduce" it to ur ECU.

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

^^Yeah woudln't be surprised, but how do I check if the a arms are indeed straight without removing them and laying both sides out on the ground? There are no clunking noises and the car aligned perfectly, so I'm not really ready to say something is indeed bent when the car tracks straight when I let go of the wheel.

Any ideas how I can inspect the rack itself to determine if it is indeed my problem?

Nopstnz8

iTrader: (6)

Bump