Elise 240 Final Edition steering clunking

[NevilleH]

My Elise 240 steering makes a clunking sound when I turn the wheel. It seems to be from the upper part of the steering column itself, rather than from the rack. This noise was there from new, and when the car had its first service I was told by Bell and Colvill this was 'normal'. Now its four years old (out of warranty!) and getting worse they suggest that the steering column needs replacing because of a failed bearing, which is surprising given the car only has 5k miles. The UJ's are tight and have no issues, so I can only assume they mean the upper column bearing. Has anyone else come across this issue? Are there any repair options other than a replacement column?

[highway]

What a nonsense for a lightweight, non PAS car to require a new rack at 5k miles. My 240 had an erratic indicator at the front which irritated me no end. Hope you can get this resolved

[BertBert]

The op says its not the rack. I'd be annoyed though if the problem has always been there.

[fridaypassion]

Are the UJs tight tight as you have to swing off them to get them properly tight. Trying to think where there is a bearing on the steering column......

Has the car ever been lifted onto a transporter by its wheels? I've had a snapped steering rack due to that before and that clunked as the pinion moved over the crack. It's quite an unusual fault does it do it at any point in the steering turns or just one part? Inner rack joints would be the other favourite for this one.

[NevilleH]

Thanks for the responses. The UJs seem solid and the cars never been lifted. Given the issue was apparent from new I’m wondering if the top bearing could have been missassembled?

[_Bandit_]

Just to eliminate all other possibilities, have you checked the drop links, front suspension and particularly the anti roll bar bushes? It was always a fairly common issue that the arb bushes can dry out and give you a clonk through the steering. Worth a quick check?

[_Bandit_]

Just to add, if you’re not terribly mechanically minded then it’s worth a trip to Jez at Back on Track in Guildford who can check the car over for you.

[b14]

I had a clunk in the steering of my 7k miles Cup 430 - whilst it was having some stuff done at Hilton & Moss I asked them to take a look. Turns out it was a finger tight bolt mounting the upper wishbone...

[BertBert]

b14 said:

I had a clunk in the steering of my 7k miles Cup 430 - whilst it was having some stuff done at Hilton & Moss I asked them to take a look. Turns out it was a finger tight bolt mounting the upper wishbone...

The wishbone bolts are only supposed to be finger tight to get better suspension compliance