Steering Noise

[L0w_N_sl0w]

I have an 03 Protege5 w/130k miles. About 6 months ago I noticed a clunk noise on wet pavement at low speeds. This issues was intermittent and seemed non alarming at the time. It now seems to be getting worse making the noise louder and more often. At one time I believed I read it was an issue with the rack & pinion, can someone confirm this? Why does the sound only occur when it's wet outside?

 

[esnave09]

Mine had the same issue. Had it inspected and yeah, something inside my steering rack broke. Mine made noise when it was wet or when it was cold outside (20 degrees F and lower). Does your steering return to center fully by itself or does it require your input to recenter it?

 

[L0w_N_sl0w]

I'll check, I believe it returns to center. Don't you have to drop the transmission to replace the rack & pinion?