Steering rack and column

UJ at bottom of steering column

The first major task is to get the steering rack out for refurbishment. Without having the car yet, I'm relying on information from the previous owner that this is an important thing to do. What has been noticeable is a fairly loud 'clunk' when turning the steering wheel. On closer inspection, it is caused by moving the steering wheel up and down when turning rather than the actual motion. With the front of the car now raised on axle stands, I've now been able to get underneath and take a look and the universal joint near the bottom of the column (as suggested by some of the experienced guys over at www.thelotusforums.com) - see picture on the right. This seems to be fine - no play and looks well greased. So had to look a bit deeper for the 'clunk'.

Driver's seat

Again, from underneath the car it was possible to look up the steering column and see that it was knocking against the cut out in the body when the steering wheel was moved. Finding the source of this meant getting into the footwell from inside the car, which is a bit of a squeeze to say the least. In the end, it was best to take out the driver's seat! This wasn't too difficult and was probably a good idea, as Nic wants to have a look at the leather as part of her role as 'Minister for the Interior'! We also found that the fixing bars that allow the seat to slide backwards and forwards were pretty rusty, so hopefully these can be cleaned up and we'll be able to adjust the seat properly when it's back in.

Even with the seat out, it still wasn't easy to get into the footwell, so off came the steering wheel as well! At the bottom of the steering column I found a sleeve that sits just about the universal joint that links to the intermediate shaft and on down to the rack. It seemed this sleeve wasn't quite doing its job because as soon as it was re-positioned, the 'clunk' disappeared!

Sleeve at bottom of steering column

It's not clear how this sleeve is retained, as it is still free to spin around the shaft but can't slide up or down. I considered taking the whole steering column out to have a better look, but this is a really awkward job and one that now thankfully doesn't seem to be necessary.

So next job is to get the rack out. The screws under the body that retain the clamps are pretty rusty so I've soaked them in WD40 and hope they will come out OK....