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I think my steering rack is on its way out. There is a clunking noise from the passenger footwell on uneven surfaces, and a tendency for the front nearside wheel to judder when cornering hard on tight bends, especially small roundabouts. OK - I changed my mind on the cause. I pulled the rack from my Elise, which was reasonably straighforward as long as you've got some long extensions for your socket set to get the bolts in the footwell and a medium sized ball joint splitter for the steering arms. The ball joint which I previously suspected is only a little loose, possibly due to the nylon cup washers (see picture below) cracking, but the bronze bearing in the rack body is also worn. The toothed rack can move up and down a little - less than a millimetre but it definitely clunks and when amplified through the tub would sound like the noise I've been hearing. The cause seems to be insufficient lubrication due to moisture getting in through pinholes in the gaiter boots which have perished - on a less than 3 year old car. It looks like Lotus really skimped on quality for the minor components of this car. I'm currently investigating replacements - more later. In the mean time, if anyone recognises this rack as being common with some other car, then please get in touch.
Part dismantled steering rack - sorry it's a bit fuzzy.
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