I’m curious whether to suspect my outer tie rods or the R&P setup.

With the wheels off the ground, there’s no movement or wobble when I shake the wheel from the 12 and 6 o’clock position.

When I grab at the 3 and 9 o’clock, I get some wobble on the back edge of the wheel. The outer tie rod joint at the steering knuckle seems OK. My suspicion is the rack has too much play.

Thoughts?

My symptoms are quite a bit of rattle over bumps and joints. I did replace the struts two years ago. Everything else seems pretty tight. Ball joints, motor and transmission mounts seem OK.

Inner tie rods. 26 years old. The most economical repair may be a rack and pinion replacement, with tie rods. Package.

How many miles? Do you encounter a LOT of potholes? What else in the suspension/steering has been replaced besides what you've indicated?

I'd expect the outer tie rod ends to fail before the inners, and as the Steering Rack is pretty damn expensive by comparison, it's not where I'd start unless it's a known issue for your vehicle, especially if it's not leaking. If it were bad, I'd expect the steering to wander somewhat and any noise would be limited to when you're turning/steering, so it wouldn't usually be bump related.

When you replaced the Struts, did you replace the Strut Mount Bearings and Upper Spring Seats/Insulators? If they're bad/worn and in need of replacement, you'd get the clunking/rattling you're describing. Bad Sway Bar End Links can also produce similar clunking/rattling as well.

Edited for add'l detail

When I replaced the struts, I’m pretty sure they included the strut mounts. Granted, they weren’t top of the line OEM. Lower control arms are original. I don’t see much wear in the bushings.

172k miles. I’ve used Moog parts from Rockauto with good success. Although my replacement struts were super affordable when Checkered Autoparts went out of business.

With rack & pinion steering, there should never be any play in any part of it.

Since the outer tie rod ends appear to have been eliminated, that has inner tie rod ends - inside the bellows/boots of the steering rack gear - written all over it. Also check the lower ball joints (play in these can also show up when you shake the tire at 9 & 3:00). I have seen hundreds of steering racks leak, but never one with excessive internal play. The only reason to replace the rack would be if you pull the tie rod boots and find fluid inside them. Not an unusual repair at 26 years old. Usually, they can be done with the rack in place.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

quote:

Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Bad Sway Bar End Links can also produce similar clunking/rattling as well.

Did these for that reason at the beginning of summer on our 2012 Odyssey with 130,000 miles.

Hopefully you won't actually need the rack. I say this because there will be no new ones available, only remanufactured. They vary in quality, with some possibly "remanufactured" multiple times. This is not something you want to do over (and over and over).