What you hear is most likely a front axle that needs to be replaced. This is caused by a tear in the axle boot behind the wheel, which allows contaminates (sand, grit, small debris, water) to enter, which results in failure of the bearings, and the 'clicking' noise you hear. Changing the axle is a big job. I would recommend you consult a manual to see what is involved, as it's quite extensive.
To confirm my diagnosis, jack up the car, support with safety stands to allow you to safely crawl under it to inspect the boots of both axles. I am quite sure you will find tears or splits. Evidence of grease around the area is also an indicator that the boot is damaged, and axle grease is escaping. Let me know if you have any other questions. Curt
Thanks for the quick reply!
It isn't the axle or tie rod ends and really sounds like it is inside the car in the column. Sounds a lot like plastic toothed gears that slip. It is intermittent so the service shop could not diagnose though they did check the axles and tie rods. I've seen other postings suggesting wheel berrings but again it sounds to be inside the car.
Intermittent symptoms are the worst, as it is so difficult to investigate and determine the cause. My possible cause is the common problem with 'clicking' or 'rattling' while turning, but of course, that's from the front end, not the steering column (although it can seem like it's coming from the column).
There are ball bearings in the top of the steering column, and there is a 'steering joint' at the bottom of the column, that could possibly be making the noise due to wear/early failure symptoms of bearings. Difficult for the shop to determine since it's intermittent, MORE difficult from here! That's all the possibilities I can come up with at this point, you may want to re-submit your problem with info on axles already checked out ok, so others can hopefully help you. Good luck!
Thanks again
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