Steering wheel don't return

[Corban]

I picked my MY90 turbo SE up from the dealer last Thursday. It had just had a Swedish MOT done. There was only one remark and that was that the rack and pinion was inert (hope this is the right word for it). I asked what this meant, and the dealer told me that the inspector noticed the steering wheel didn't return to the center position after a turn (nor does the car). To me this sounds strange, I have always thought that it is the caster setting on the front wheels that decide how much and how fast it will return and not the rack and pinion. I think that the car has been run on trackdays alot and maybe there is some gain when running on a track to have less caster (easier turning maybe?).

Any thoughts on the matter are welcome. Don't want to tear the steering apart to fix this if it is a wheel alignment issue.

[ramjet]

I'm with you Henrik. I thought the wheel returning was a result of correct alignment.

[Jacques]

I have just had my Corrado alingned and set up perfectly. I was told by the mechanic, that castor decides the self-correction ability.

But, in your case, there must be a certain drag in the rack and pinnoim?

 

Kind regards,

Jacques.

[brianc]

Isn't this a symptom of one or other of the steering UJs becoming stiff? 

[Corban]

@Brian, think you are absolutely spot on. Today I checked the U/Js to see if they lined up as they should. Of course they didn't so I had to seperate the U/Js. Then I noticed the lower one was totally stiff, so out it came.
Is there a way to service them? Where to buy new ones? Knowing Lotus, is there another car that used this U/J?

[brianc]

I don't think you can service them yourself but the lower one is available from SJ Sportscars as a pattern part.  It's a little larger than the original so you may have to rotate the steering rack a little to ensure it doesn't foul the chassis (or grind it down a bit).  The upper one is somewhat more difficult to source.  SJ Sportcars and a couple of others I tried couldn't help.  Luckily a found a brand new one on fleabay.