samsam5886

I've been hearing/feeling a pop whenever I turn the steering wheel to back out of parking spots, ever since a drifting event. Then I read about how there isn't supposed to be any play at all in the steering wheel, but found out that mine has exactly 4mm of play along the outermost circumference of the steering wheel. So I went under my car to check for anything abnormal and this grabbed my attention:



I circled the suspicious area. Aren't the splines supposed to be fully seated inside the joint, and not be showing so much? Now I've already tried looking at the service manual illustrations, but I still can't make out if it's supposed to be like that or not. I need help here.

Also my left tie rod boot has grease all oozed out of it, could that be what's causing the popping sensation? And for the 4mm of play, I'm kind of stumped. I think something got loose from some threads I searched for, but I'm still not so sure what exactly it could be.

samsam5886

Nevermind. Upon further examination of the service manual, I noticed that the reason why I couldn't find the picture of the joint was because whoever had worked on my car had the joint cover loosened and all the way up towards the steering column! Wow... And the direction the joint bolts are facing are completely opposite of what the service manual illustrates. Somebody removed the spline and did a crappy job at putting it back. I think it was for a clutch install.

But now, I'm confused as to how I should re-center the joint. Maybe loosen the tie rods, center the wheel, etc. And reset the EPS center position or something? I'm lost.

For the play, I will go ahead and check the rack guide like the service manual says. I know the manual says 0-10mm play is within limit, but then the consensus on the forum is that there should be no play at all... 0... am I correct?

samsam5886

Also, grease was splattered all around the forward propeller shaft joint (where it attaches to the transmission), due to some of the hex bolts being loose. I suspect that whoever did the clutch install left those loose too. I still can't believe I made it back home on that 19 hour drive with loose propeller shaft bolts! Yikes...

Now, I don't really see why there would be grease within that propeller shaft joint. I'm guessing I could just loosen those bolts and repack grease in there, right? Is that where the grease should go? I have no clue about grease in the propeller shaft.

samsam5886

Sigh... My car has so many problems...

marcucci

You figured out the splines on the steering shaft, but for the benefit of others, the space at the top is needed so you have somewhere to slide it to when you need to disconnect it.

The boot isn't critical, it's just intended to help keep moisture from accumulating at the top of the joint and promoting rust/siezure of the two or the bolt.

I don't recall the spec, but 4mm isn't that much. It's worth it to check the rod ends for play. With the front end up in the air, pull on the wheel with your hands, alternating left/right, and see if there is play. The rack may move a bit but it should move in tandem with the wheel. If you can detect the wheel is moving but the rack/steering wheel aren't, you probably have a bad rod end. Do this on both sides, you may have just one side bad.

The joint should, in general, face just one way unless the rack or steering wheel were replaced and not reinstalled right. You can still align the car OK (usually), even if it's off some. Keep in mind the position changes as you turn the wheel, and while I normally remove the joint when the wheel is centered, it doesn't have to be done that way. I'm not sure if that's how they did it in the shop manual or not.

On the propeller shaft, I'm not sure why it would be greased, it shouldn't be. If those bolts were loose, that's a big bad bad item as you noticed. Make sure they are torqued right. I will do that for you for free if you like.

Make sure the safety strap was installed under the prop shaft. If not you might be in for some pogo action if those bolts ever came out!

samsam5886

Yup, I tightened the propeller shaft bolts as tight as I could a few months ago... I don't want the pogo action lol. I don't know why there would be grease in there either.

Hopefully you can take a look at my steering components to make sure nothing is bad. In the meantime, I'll try to get to the rod end check. Thanks for the help!

BlackBearTX

Weird, my car started having this problem 2-3 days ago! The popping... My theory is the last owner drifted the car... The hand brake can't hold my car on a steep hill, has to be in first gear or it rolls back after 3 mins.

marcucci

Sounds like you need your e-brake adjusted. Easy enough. You don't have to drift a car for that to happen, repeatedly over-"lifting" the e-brake handle when parking will do that.

mxt_77

I think the weak e-brake is a common problem on the S2000. I'm pretty sure I recall reading about it previously. Something about heat causing parts to expand, and when they cool, the tension decreases and the e-brake is less effective.

Regardless, you should always park a car in gear (a low gear, 1st or R) when parking on an incline.

samsam5886

Nice. Let me know when you fix your popping sensation.