Steering rack replacement
 

Looks like the steering rack on my '01 CL-S is dying... As far as I know those things are often turn out to be "unrepairable" once broken(the body of the whole assembly wears out, gears starts slipping, etc), so I already thinking about replacement for my own. The problem is the CL(as well as 2nd gen TL) are pretty rare car here in East Europe, so I was wondering if I could use the parts from similar cars like MDX, 6th gen Accords or other Honda/Acura models? Are there other cars(except CL and TL) that share same design of the steering rack assemly ?

Usually I would buy a used part from JDM version of 2nd gen TL - Honda Inspire(UA4, UA5), but obviously those Honda's have right hand drive design which is make the steering rack from those cars totally useless for my CL.

Haddock, I'm not sure if there are any readily available Honda cross model 'bolt in' alternatives for your unique left hand side 01 CL-S there in East Europe.

With that said, given your circumstances, there are 'rack and pinion' seal kits available that may be a better 'first choice' in the short run.:dunno:

Then if a 'rebuild' does not work for you, a new rack would be in order?

I included an attachment showing the steering gear box.

The two 'seal kits' listed below where taken from RockAuto's website here in the US. They may be something that you can easily order over there?

GATES 348587; $33.79

ACDELCO 36348587; $35.79

Good Luck!

Thanks for the reply but I'm afraid that those seal kits just won't cut it... One day I heard a really bad "creaking" noise coming from the steering column area(I was just taking off from a parking lot and had to make a hard left turn). I took the car to my mechanic to check it out but he didn't find any PSF leaks(fluid level was OK too). The creaking noise was definitely coming from the rack(not from the column or steering knuckles), but no leaks! So there is good chance that the steering rack itself is damaged(that long metal bar with teeth on it)), it colud be the gears too.
I can buy a rebuild assembly for ~200$ from Russia, but there is no guarantee...On the other hand prices for the OEM parts are insane(as always), plus shipping will make it even more shocking.
The reason I was asking for HondAcura interchangeable parts is because I was told that TL(and CL aswell) is basically a fancy 6th gen USDM Honda Accord with original body design, so virtually any parts from 6th gen Accord with V6 will fit to Acura TL/CL(except of body parts obviously and some other minor parts).

When I look up the steering rack for your 01 CL-S, I find a current part # 06536-S3M-506RM, which is a 'remanufactured' rack.
Immediately below it is a list of part #'s that it supersedes, which are: 53600-S3M-A52RM, 53600-S3M-A53RM, 53601-S3M-A51, 53601-S3M-A52, 53601-S3M-A52RM, 53601-S3M-A53

When I look up the steering rack for a 2002 Honda Accord Coupe EXV6, I find a current part # 53601-S82-A51, it also states that it is 'discontinued'. Immediately below it shows the part # it supersedes: 53601-S82-A50.

It looks like the #53601-S82-A51 of the 6G 2002 Accord may fit your 2001 2G CL-S 53601-S3M-A51. :)

Since the prefix '53601' in the part # for Acura/Honda relates to the parts description
The 'root' tells what kind of car it fits
The suffix 'A51' tells detail about the part itself.

https://ultraracing-usa.com/blog/dec...-part-numbers/

bump

would like to continue this discussion as i am seriously considering the 53601-S82-A51, just given that it has a 1.4 foot tighter turning radius.

worried it won't fit, though.

humm will continue this on the TL board. zetas is on to something!

Why do you think that rack will have a tighter turn radius?

I can say for sure that the TL-P and CL-P steering rack will fit and has a tighter turn radius. I switched from the TL-P rack to a CL-S6 rack, and was shocked how difficult it was to take U-turns. The Type S rack is inferior to the base rack in my opinion.

i just want to confirm what karanx7 said, that the 26-1797 does fit perfectly.

i wish canadians had a better option, and could get OEM remans like the americans, but that's not the point of this post.

bottom line: 26-1797 will fit a type S TL or CL, even though it's made for an accord.

wish i knew that the tl and cl's host feeds are slightly different (in terms of where they position the rubber grommet).

• thankfully it's not a big deal since the hose feed is secured with its own clamp by the inlet, and it also sits under the return hose which is also secured to the subframe with its own clamp.
• return pipes are also slightly different, but not a big deal since the return hose clip closer to the return hose secures the pipe, the second clip is a little too far away but that's fine i'll just twist tie the pipe to the closed clip.

interesting to see these little differences.