Steering Column woes

[Hal Taylor <taylor@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here's one for the tech gurus...

I have recently had a major (1200 dollar) front end rebuild on my '86
spider, here in southern California.  I still have, however, a couple of
issues with my steering.  For one, there seems to be a good bit of
clunking transmitted through the steering wheen when I drive over bumpy
surfaces.  For another, the steering wheel seems to have a little more
play thsn it should.  This seems most noticible when I first get in the
car, before I start moving.  It wiggles a little before it feels like it
connects to anything, and seems to click a little bit if I turn it
suddenly.  Finally, more steering column creaks like an old wooden ship
when I turn the wheel.

The creaking seems to be coming from inside the cockpit, as opposed to
under the car.  Is there some sort of bushing or bearing surface in
there that might require lubrication or replacement?  How big a deal is
this likely to be?

I'm assuming that the creaking is unrelated to the clunking and play in
the steering, which both seem to be related to something underneath the
car, outside of the cockpit.  Is this a safe assumption?  What might be
causing the clunking I experience through the steering column while
going over rough surfaces?  Is it likely to be something that my
mechanic ought to have caught while doing the front end, or is more
likely a seperate issue, ie, steering box?

Thanks in advance for any light anyone might be able to shed for me...

Hal Taylor
'86 spider veloce 'Strega'
Venice, CA

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