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Mugen steering gearbox bushings/SHG rack slider

10747 Views 41 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  4cyli
5
I thought I would share what I have planned for my 05 S in case anyone has ever wondered about the Mugen steering gearbox bushings, or the job to replace the faulty steering rack slider guide. It seems like my right tie rod is bad (sloppy steering and pulls to the right) so I decided to replace them with new oem tie rods with all the locks, o-rings, and boot bands, etc. needed. The steering rack slider tends to be a weak spot for the Honda’s with this type of steering rack. This is why DC5’s and EP3’s tend to have bump steer, (one of the reasons) and bad steering. The SHG slider improves the steering by making the piece out of DuPont black Delrin so that it does not wear out as fast. I’ll let them explain their design ⬇


I won’t be overhauling the steering gearbox, but I will replace the bushings, and the rack slider with Honda high temp grease, and tie rods as explained earlier. I plan on doing this work in about a few weeks. I’ll will come back with another post of the tools needed and the procedure to take out the steering rack according to the service manual. I bought the Mugen bushings from RHDJapan. Good service and timing for about $80 shipped. They are said to be hard rubber but when I felt them they felt like plastic or even like the SHG slider material. They definitely didn’t feel cheap though. I tried squeezing them hard with my fingers and they didn’t move at all 👍. They felt very very durable. I had always wished someone would have made metal inserts like Spoon Sports did for the FD2, but these feel like they will do the same job. I’ll compare the feel of the oem ones next time. Overall, I am excited for the new steering feel to come, and the feedback from the hard steering bushings. Hopefully with no vibrations. I like Mugen products, but I will be unbiased in my review after the test drive.

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if you want to be lowered, having the roll center adjusters as you mentioned is a good thing for something more than an inch lower than stock height. Honed developments sells a type of rack riser but the best one I’ve seen is the PCI bump steer tie rod kit. It allows you to adjust the inner tie rod height from the center of the rack for a more accurate adjustment. I plan on using this withhard race roll center adjusters, tein mono sport coilovers, and adjustable rear upper control arms with hardrace hardens bushings. I would also recommend getting a bump steer gauge if you go with the PCI option so that you can dial in the bump steer travel to a minimum. Don’t forget to refresh those bushings around the car too!

I took it to a local shop that specializes in aftermarket susp mods, they aligned it best they could, turns out the coils weren’t preloaded nor were they all at same height so that helped with the clunking I was having. They also put grease in the top hats for me and the sound is gone. It’s def Riding better but still pulling (now to opposite side) and plowing. I’m gonna grab energy bushings because my front LCA’s had play in every bushing, Hoping the new balljoints and tie Rod end links will help further.
Are your RCA’s extended? And tie Rod ends Reverse? I’d like to see what input you or anyone else has on that combo
I have already installed a rear UCA or “camber kit” but it was no name eBay stuff. Have yet to touch any bushings but based on how the front looked all the others are trashed
Any info about the Spherical Tie Rod kit from HardRace? Is it similar to the one you listed?



I thought I would share what I have planned for my 05 S in case anyone has ever wondered about the Mugen steering gearbox bushings, or the job to replace the faulty steering rack slider guide. It seems like my right tie rod is bad (sloppy steering and pulls to the right) so I decided to replace them with new oem tie rods with all the locks, o-rings, and boot bands, etc. needed. The steering rack slider tends to be a weak spot for the Honda’s with this type of steering rack. This is why DC5’s and EP3’s tend to have bump steer, (one of the reasons) and bad steering. The SHG slider improves the steering by making the piece out of DuPont black Delrin so that it does not wear out as fast. I’ll let them explain their design ⬇


I won’t be overhauling the steering gearbox, but I will replace the bushings, and the rack slider with Honda high temp grease, and tie rods as explained earlier. I plan on doing this work in about a few weeks. I’ll will come back with another post of the tools needed and the procedure to take out the steering rack according to the service manual. I bought the Mugen bushings from RHDJapan. Good service and timing for about $80 shipped. They are said to be hard rubber but when I felt them they felt like plastic or even like the SHG slider material. They definitely didn’t feel cheap though. I tried squeezing them hard with my fingers and they didn’t move at all 👍. They felt very very durable. I had always wished someone would have made metal inserts like Spoon Sports did for the FD2, but these feel like they will do the same job. I’ll compare the feel of the oem ones next time. Overall, I am excited for the new steering feel to come, and the feedback from the hard steering bushings. Hopefully with no vibrations. I like Mugen products, but I will be unbiased in my review after the test drive.
Any update on the Mugen bushing? Really interested in your thoughts
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