Squeak coming from steering rack.

[jcmiro]

I have had the most annoying squeak intermittently for about 3 months. Its enough that I cant stand driving the car. It sounds like a 70's Lada, when travelling over bumps or potholes. And I live in a 3rd world country so that's every 5 feet. I thought it was suspension related because it always made noise over rough surfaces, but then I brought it to a detailer and told him id pay him 50 bucks if he found and killed the squeak. 3 days later he calls. He reproduces the ****ing squeak by turning the steering wheel from lock to lock and I hear the sound. He says its coming from the steering rack. So my question is. Is this serviceable or do I need a new steering rack?
Cheers.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Turning the steering wheel, especially with tires on the ground, stresses more than just the steering rack. On some cars, a squeak when turning the wheel will most likely be the upper strut mount.

So I'd want to be very, very sure of the diagnosis before committing to replace the rack.

Does it squeak if you push down on the bumper or raise/lower it on a jack? You might try spraying some silicone on various parts of the suspension in a systematic way, and see if you can isolate where the noise is coming from.

Good luck. I know how frustrating that can be.