Steering noise

[venturaII]

Hi All...been a while. Not sure if this would be the best sub, or if it should be in the Maintenance section, and I did several Searches which failed to turn anything up...anyway.. My '13 FR-S (90K miles) has developed a groan in the steering system when it's cold out, as it has been here in central New England for the past couple of months. I'm assuming it's the electric booster complaining about the cold temps, but wanted to be sure if I could just ignore it or if it was indicative of bigger trouble ahead?

Car is still pretty stock at this point...aftermarket swaybars, Sachs shocks, and camber bolts/adjustable LCAs with a 'sporty' alignment...lol. Wheels are currently 16" steels with 205 studded snows, so nothing weird in that department.

It's definitely not something rubbing....I hear the groan the most when I first start the car and it's dead cold, and I turn the wheel a lot to pull out of a parking spot or my driveway, or even making a slow tight turn into a side street. It seems to go away as the car warms up, but I haven't taken it on a long ride in quite a while, so it's tough to say with 100% confidence that it goes away when the cabin fully warms up. I can almost feel the groan in the pedals when it happens. I don't think it's the coupler bushing that I've read about, because I don't feel any slop anywhere... Anyone else experience this? Should I be saving for a new electric steering booster?

[venturaII]

Would I be better off reposting to a different sub? I assumed steering would be part of chassis and suspension, but if there's a better place to put this, I'd be happy to..

[Ultramaroon]

No. I think it's just a tough nut to crack. I'll take a video of me jiggling my steering wheel. Let's listen for any difference in sound after you do the same. Also post a recording of the sound.

[venturaII]

I'll see if I can get a short video clip of the noise and post it later today.

[venturaII]

Ok, let's give this a try...fingers crossed.. The sound quality isn't the best (old, tired phone..), but it's all I've got available and I think it gets the point across.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/157Y...usp=drive_link

[Racecomp Engineering]

Originally Posted by venturaII

Ok, let's give this a try...fingers crossed.. The sound quality isn't the best (old, tired phone..), but it's all I've got available and I think it gets the point across.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/157Y...usp=drive_link

Access denied!

With the little bit of warmer temperatures we have this week, is the noise better or worse or the same?

- Andrew

[venturaII]

Ahh, really? Rats...I thought I granted access to all... As far as noise/temps go, it's still pretty chilly here - 22F in the sun at the moment - so there hasn't been much change that I've noticed. I'll take another look at the file and make sure I have permissions set correctly...

EDIT: ok, fixed the access issue...sorry 'bout that!

[Ultramaroon]

My wife's Camry made a similar noise. It came from the rubber boot/seal/grommet thing where the shaft went through the firewall. I fixed it by stirring in the excess factory lube with my finger. Maybe it's the same thing.

edit: To clarify, this diagram is for the twin. The camry was an '04.

[22R]

I had a loose sound knock or rattle in my 2012 Camry. It was the electric power steering motor coupling. A rubber coupling that was 10.00 from the dealer. Different sounding noise from what you describe but never know. I thought sure a strut was gone at first.
Youtube vids on how to replace if you suspect yours.

22R

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

My wife's Camry made a similar noise. It came from the rubber boot/seal/grommet thing where the shaft went through the firewall. I fixed it by stirring in the excess factory lube with my finger. Maybe it's the same thing.

I really don't think it's a squeaking rubber boot because I can feel vibration in the pedals when it's making the noise. It sounds/feels like the electric booster is struggling, although the steering itself is not binding at all. But I'll certainly check just to be sure...I'd LOVE for it to be an easy fix like that. Probably won't be for a couple of days though...raining this afternoon and supposed to snow tomorrow. I hate having to work in the driveway...

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by venturaII

I really don't think it's a squeaking rubber boot because I can feel vibration in the pedals when it's making the noise. It sounds/feels like the electric booster is struggling, although the steering itself is not binding at all. But I'll certainly check just to be sure...I'd LOVE for it to be an easy fix like that. Probably won't be for a couple of days though...raining this afternoon and supposed to snow tomorrow. I hate having to work in the driveway...

Guess what's mounted to the firewall right next to the steering shaft.

[venturaII]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

Guess what's mounted to the firewall right next to the steering shaft.

Yeah yeah, I know...lol. I didn't say I wouldn't check...

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by venturaII

Yeah yeah, I know...lol. I didn't say I wouldn't check...

lol

[venturaII]

Welp, here's my update: I crawled under the dash Saturday afternoon when it was warm (close to 40F) and started playing around with the rubber steering shaft boot on the firewall, squishing it around and just manipulating it to try and redistribute any lube that was in there. The steering wheel wasn't making the sound at that time, presumably because it was much warmer than it's been.

Since that time, the weather has been down in the teens and single digits again, and so far, NO NOISE. I'm probably jinxing myself with this post, but so far, so good. Fingers crossed it stays this way.

Thanks to Ultramaroon for the suggestion. I would've bet money against the boot being the issue, but I guess that's why I'm not a betting man.