I got fed up with the loose steering on my '03 so I did something about it:



I believe part 7 (rack guide) in the above diagram wears over time, causing excessive lash in the rack and pinion.

the procedure to fix requires tightening part 6 (rack guide screw). doing this pushes the rack closer to the pinion, causing the gear teeth to mesh more closely, eliminating the slop in the steering.

part 6 is tightened with a 3/8" ratchet extension (ie, a 3/8" ratchet plus extension, without any sockets attached), but acura/honda/helm specify a special tool for lock nut (part 9), probably because it's so large (40+ mm).

I actually bought the special tool (~$20), but after making the adjustment and seeing the nut up close, I bet you could use channel-lock pliers or a hammer and drift to loosen and set it. mine was tight, but not particularly tight.

I put the car on a pair of ramps (like you might use for oil changes) and got under the car behind the driver's side front wheel. the locknut assembly (parts 6/9) is on the driver's side behind the motor/tranny (look for the steering rack) and faces the rear of the car.

the procedure outlined in the helm manual specifies tightening part 6 to ~20 ft/lbs, backing it off 20 degrees, and retightening to ~3 ft/lbs. I did all that (yep, even broke out the protractor), and the index mark (parts 6 and 9 both had a sharpie mark on them showing their original alignment) moved approximately 1/4" to the new setting.

I started noticing the loose steering almost a year ago, but other components needed replacing (tires/shocks/struts/sways) or adjusting (wheel alignment) before doing this. my car tracks so much better than before - I no longer am forced to make back-and-forth corrections because of the dead spot in the steering.

the sways and alignment also helped considerably in this regard, but the tires (general exclaims) have a softer sidewall than stock, so they hurt a little bit. even after replacing and realigning all that stuff, the steering still had a dead spot or excessive looseness to it, which is why I pursued this fix.

overall, I'm pleased with the results. the steering feels like new again...