i'm going to the dealership on thursday, but i wanted to see what you guys think about this. back in maybe july or something i ran over a huge unavoidable bump in the pavement on the entrance ramp from north hills heading towards glenwood. it's since been fixed, but it knocked my car way out of alignment, 2 wheels were positive and 1 other was negative. i don't know the specific numbers. honda set it back to spec.

i live in rocky mount and really don't drive on the highway that frequently, but the last several times i have, and i'm pretty sure it's since that bump, it turns too easy at highway speeds. you really have to just barely touch it to make it turn. it just takes too much of an effort to keep it straight. it's not that it drifts one way or the other by itself, it's just super sensitive.

the car has always been sensitive and steering tight, but this just isn't right imo. it didn't used to be this way. my husband said the caster may be out of spec, but after looking around online for stuff about caster and honda civic, it seems that it would be difficult to knock it out of spec w/o wrecking it or something. i read something somewhere that it can't be adjusted. i really have no clue about this stuff...

what can cause this problem? the lady who scheduled my appt for thursday put the note down as "loose steering" but that's completely the opposite i think. i told her i thought it was too tight but she ignored me. maybe i'm not describing it well. ideas?

12/1/2009 5:14:13 PM

Ideas about what? You hit a bump and knocked it out of whack. End of story.

12/1/2009 5:40:18 PM

Um pretty sure that car has electronic steering and not the run of the mill steering with fluid and and shit
I could be wrong. But I think that's why they are so sensitive.

12/1/2009 5:41:28 PM

se7entythree, you husband is correct in that it is a symptom of incorrect caster. I'de go to an independent shop and get it done, you should be able to find somebody that will do it for $40 ish. PLEASE DONT TAKE IT TO HUBERT VESTER! The mickey mouse mechanics there will get nothing accomplished. I personally recommend the colony tire on Wesleyan (know a mechanic there) I think they charge 50ish. But, if you take is somewhere else before they do it tell them you want a print out of alignment after their done, if they say they cant do that go somewhere else. Hondas can get way off spec real fast, it's possible that you might have shifted the cradle, if so it'll prob be another 30 bucks to adjust.

12/1/2009 6:26:49 PM

Civic doesn't have a cradle, I thought. Might be wrong though. New ones might.

A car will tend to dart way too easily if there's too much toe in. Caster does indeed have a direct bearing on directional sensitivity and the car's tendency to return to neutral...but front wheel drive cars neither need as much nor does change in caster affect handling as much. Of course, if you smack a curb hard enough, sure, things are gonna get outta whack.

12/1/2009 6:48:08 PM

Sorry, Honda doesn't have a cradle it has a "subframe." Whatever...

12/1/2009 7:34:47 PM

well, my Accord does have a cradle.

12/1/2009 10:00:25 PM

Yeah I was about to say.

12/1/2009 10:30:59 PM

Possibly the steering gear? Sounds like you may need a new one. This happened to my bro's car.

12/1/2009 10:55:05 PM

i take it to davenport. they've done all the maintenance since i bought it new in 2006 (i get free oil changes, otherwise i would do them myself), including the last alignment early in the summer. the vester clan in wilson are fucking morons and i will never take anything, not even my wheelbarrow, near them.

it's always been sensitive, just not this sensitive. it doesn't stay on center. it doesn't automatically come back to center if you move the wheel just a bit anymore. if you breathe too hard and your hand is touching the wheel, it'll turn. lol

i wanted ideas because i want to know and understand the mechanism that is causing this, not just be told "oh it's out of whack". that doesn't help me.

12/1/2009 11:53:09 PM

I believe the problem is a loose nut behind the wheel.

12/2/2009 12:17:05 AM

Quote :

"it doesn't automatically come back to center if you move the wheel just a bit anymore"

It really sounds like it is your steering gear. It may have been damaged when you hit the "bump" so to speak. I would venture to say something is fucked up in the box...damaged gears...etc.

http://www.automotix.net/usedautoparts/2006-honda-civic-steering_gear-inventory.html#C2698873L

12/2/2009 12:46:20 AM

^^buh dum CHING! you suck at trolling

^thanks. i'll see what the dealership thinks tomorrow. of course the car is just barely out of warranty now. is that stearing gear something that we could install ourselves? my husband does all his own work on his 4runner.

12/2/2009 8:40:42 AM

I have never replaced one. It happened to my bro's car as well and the dealer replaced it b/c it was under warranty. I would imagine it's somewhat involved. If your husbands not comfortable with it then have the shop do it (of course it may not even be what I said so that may not fix the problem). I would say go with honda parts. If he's never done that before, best to let dealer fuck with it...you don't want to have "no steering" if he somehow didn't install it right. scary. Good luck

12/2/2009 9:45:09 AM

I'm interested in hearing the outcome on this one.

I doubt it's a problem with the rack. Usually, if there's a problem with the shuttle or spool valve in a rack, it becomes ridiculously easy to turn in one direction and ridiculously hard in the other. Or it will be ridiculously easy but "catch" a lot.

12/3/2009 12:22:52 PM

Quote :

"Or it will be ridiculously easy but "catch" a lot."

That must be what was wrong with my e30 for a couple of years. When it was cold it would catch when turning right. Once it warmed up it was barely noticeable. Eventually the seals blew out and it dumped PS fluid all over the place. I think I found a rack on eBay for about $42 shipped, but it was a bitch and a half to get out and I had to replace the tie rod ends while I was at it.

12/3/2009 12:48:20 PM

Getting the rack out of one of those is definitely NOT easy...really need to drop the cradle some to do it.

12/3/2009 1:26:33 PM

My method involved some specialty tools...Big ass channel locks to bend it out of the way and a BFH to bend it back once the new rack was positioned in place. I think that's the accepted method for BMWs.

12/3/2009 1:38:27 PM

it was out of alignment again, same thing too. 2 positive, 1 negative. i don't remember which was which, but it was both front and the passenger rear. they realigned it for free. you can't adjust caster or camber in my car, which i found out ahead of time in a civic forum. they're going to continue to monitor it when i bring it in for oil changes, scheduled maintenance, etc. they checked for bent or broken parts and didn't find any.

yup

12/5/2009 12:24:49 PM

Quote :

"you can't adjust caster or camber in my car"

is that a challenge? because i can! you have a gx?

12/5/2009 3:15:31 PM

the dealership said you can't. it's a 2006 honda civic ex sedan

12/5/2009 4:41:09 PM

you can adjust it...with a carbide rasp.

12/5/2009 6:17:37 PM