Rack Pinion???

(I believe thats what its called). When I go over bumps, or turn the wheel hard, (i.e doing a u-turn/backing into a spot) i get a kind of grindin/squeaking noise on the drivers side. Kinda sounds like its coming from inside the steering wheel when inside the car, somewhere in the wheel when outside the car. Had two mechanics tell me it was a bushing that needed to be oiled. Had that done, sound stopped for about a month. A guy at work mentioned it could be the rack pinion. Wondering if anyone had ecperienced this or knows any possible causes??? Any help would be great. Thanks :shakehead

(I believe thats what its called). When I go over bumps, or turn the wheel hard, (i.e doing a u-turn/backing into a spot) i get a kind of grindin/squeaking noise on the drivers side. Kinda sounds like its coming from inside the steering wheel when inside the car, somewhere in the wheel when outside the car. Had two mechanics tell me it was a bushing that needed to be oiled. Had that done, sound stopped for about a month. A guy at work mentioned it could be the rack pinion. Wondering if anyone had ecperienced this or knows any possible causes??? Any help would be great. Thanks :shakehead

Well if it was a bushing that originally caused the noise than it probably is the same problem. It might just need new bushings if they are worn, most likely the control arm bushings are bad or you may need a new control arm all together if you cant replace the bushings in them. They are like $80 on ebay which is not that bad for a new one. That is the first thing I would check or maybe its another "bushing" causing it instead of the control arm bushings. The noise went away when greased but if the bushing needs replacing the grease will eventually wear out, its only a temporary fix. If the wheel is grinding when you are moving it might need a new wheel bearing on the drivers side. They dont cost much and you could fix it yourself. Jack up the car and feel for side-to-side play in the wheel. This would be a sign of bad wheel bearings or ball joint. The ball joint could be a problem too. Check to see if the ball joint has a ripped boot seal or if it has play in when you move the wheel back and forth. There is a recall on the lower ball joints and a dealer will fix it for free. That could also explain the greasing situation. The ball joint seal, if torn, will leak grease if they greased it. As for the rack and pinion, I dont know and I have never had a problem with mine. The rack and pinion if you are unsure is the hydraulic rams powered by the power steering pump that turn the wheels by the outer tie rod ends when you turn the steering wheel. If the steering is abnormal that could be a problem. Check your outer tie rod ends to see if those look bad too.
Hope this helps you to find the problem.

Thank you once again. I know alomst nothing about cars, so everytime someone says it could be something, kinda scares me, cause I drive over 100 kms a day to work and back. Anyways, I'm going to be calling about the ball joints tomorrow, hopefully they havent been fixed and it wont cost me anything. I know the ball joints need to be fixed, so maybe thats the problem. Ill get the bushings checked just in case. Again, thank you, makes me feel better to know it probably isnt the rack pinion, i hear that can cost quite a bit. :o).