I know this is way off-topic, but the depth of knowledge on this forum know no bounds (heck, i fixed my microwave because of Greatbear's advice).
Driving to work in my 97 Civic LX, I can hear a clicking/racheting sound coming from my steering column when i turn the wheel. When I turn right the sound starts at about 45 degrees and continues to about 90 degrees. There is no sound on the return. When I turn left, there is no sound, but there IS sound on the return of the wheel- again from about 90 degrees to about 45 degrees, then silence as the wheel straightens. It is a well mainteined car that has only 57K on it but has had all services.

Any ideas? Is my steering wheel about to fall off?
Edit: The sound only occurs in the morning - I assume because it's cold (parked outside)

 

Sounds like the Tappett Bros on NPR.

 

Hmm, my '91 Prelude did that. I sold that car and bought a Mini.

 

Well, I DIDN'T sell the Civic, but I still bought a MINI.

 

Are you good with working on your car?

If so what I would do is remove the steering wheel and remove
the turn signal coilwire thingie under the air bag unit. Just make
sure you mark the coil with masking tape or something so you
know which direction to put it back. (follow general rules on
handling the airbag by disconnecting neg wire off battery, etc).

Then put the steering wheel back together (you can just have
the airbag unit loosely hanging over the steering wheel), fireup
the car and just turn the wheel to see if it makes the same noise.

I don't know about 97 civics but my 98 Prelude had to go through
a SRS reset sequence in order to get the SRS error indicator off
the cluster when the airbag was disconnected from the car.
so don't start your car without it unplugged unless you know
where to fit the key for the SRS reset.

I just made a switch and reset the airbag indicator myself..

 

You might want to check the steering shaft under the dash, my friends Accord had a bad joint before it went through the firewall. Have someone move the steering wheel back and forth while you look for play. Hope this helps you!

 

I think one or both of your CV joints are failing. That is the "driveshaft" that goes from your transmission to the front wheel. There is one on each side, and either or both could be bad. There is a boot filled with grease to lube a joint at eachend of both shafts. If the boot is torn or the grease has failed, your CV joint will die. If you get new grease in there soon enough, you may be able to save them. Chances are they are already dead.

If a CV joint fails while you are driving your car will lose it's ability to move forward. Get them replaced, it's not cheap but its a fact of life with FWD.

 

Yeah, I am concerned about that. But I initially discounted that because the dealership replaced all the boots less than a year ago.
Also, the sound appears from inside the car (or so it seems)- is that expected with CV joints?
Anyway, it's time to take it to the mechanic.
Thanks.

 

If the noise is louder with your window open, i might be worried.

the cv is inside the boot as you know, so changing just the boot's not
going to help. but it's too early for your cv to go out, I think. How many
miles?

 

The best way to test your CV joints is to get in a large parking lot and turn your wheel all the way to the right or the left. Then slowly drive in circles forward and backwards. Do the saem with the wheel all the way to the other side. If you hear alot of clicking or clacking while driving in these tight circles, your CV joints are probably messed up.

This is a good thing to do as part of a test drive in a used FWD car.

 

57K only. I just checked the boots and they are in great condition. They were replaced about 14 months ago.
As I said, the racheting sound/feel is only there in the morning. And only sounds when the steering wheel is being turned- whether the car is moving or not, I hear the sound (more like feel it in the steering wheel) inside the car. This morning, when idling, I could get the sound by turning the wheel while stationary. I tried the car tonight, and it's as smooth as silk in a turn.

 

I am further baffled, because it appears this phenomenon is temperature-driven. We had a mild evening last night, and warmer morning. So absolutely no racheting/clicking from the steering no matter what I do.

 

Then it's not your CV joints.

 

I know you said it is a well-maintained vehicle, but since no one else suggested it, did you check the fluid yet? Never hurts...

 

Actually, I haven't checked the PS fluid yet. I will though!! :smile: