Rattle from front right tire

Crikey, by the looks of this you are lucky it is just rattling, you need new sway bar bushes and no doubt new ball joints etc as all look dry, cracked and worn. I would be surprised if this would pass a roadworthy inspection and would also be a bit worried should you have an accident as the insurer (in australia) could get out of paying a claim due to un-roadworthiness. I suggest you doit bit by bit so it doesn't hurt too much all at once.

 

The steering rack bushings should definitely be addressed/fixed. The rest is showing it's age, but doesn't look horrible IMO (and when you do the steering rack bushing work that will give you/your mechanic a chance to have a closer look).

 

+1 0n the steering rack bushing passenger side. This one wears in a strange way, and play will develop. If you grab the front wheel and try to steer it, you will be able to notice the free play. A new bushing can be ordered or custom made of delrin or brass, and inserted and fixed with a set screw. A small hole will have to be drilled and thread tapped to accomodate the setscrew. There is an extensive thread about these steering racks on one of the de Tomaso Pantera forums, these cars have the same Cam Gears racks.

 

http://www.panteraplace.com/page203.htm

 

Also, the shock absorbers can start to rattle with age. Replaced the ones on all corners of my car a few years ago.

 

Looks like your up for a full suspension and steering rebuild.Plenty of posts here on how to and not that hard of a job to tackle either.Which car is this from?

 

This one:
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The pink bushings should completely surround the bolt (and its inner sleeve) and prevent the (metal) bolt assembly from touching the (metal) aluminum support. In your present condition, it looks like the bolt assembly is already touching the aluminum support, and this could easily make clunking/rattling noises. Even if it isn't the source of your rattling noise, it really needs to be fixed so making this repair won't be wasted effort (even if it doesn't fix the noise).

Here's an example of how your steering rack bushings should look if they were in good condition (of course, there's a set on each side -- i.e., 4 bolts total using 8 total of the conical pink bushings):
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The rattle from the right front wheel is coming most likely from the bush ínside the steering rack assembly. The rack is guided on the driver side by the pinion but on the right side only by a plastic bushing that tends to disintegrate over the years. If you steer to the full right and grab the track rod end you can probably feel that you can move it up and down. If you search "rack" in the 308 section you will find the relevant threads.
I agree those pink bushings that hold the whole steering rack assembly need to be replaced also.

 

How many miles on your car?

 

I'm at 48K, just curious as to when these areas can fail.

 

yes, but it's not really on the steering "column", they are located at the steering rack in front of the 'firewall'

And don't pay $34 each. Can get all 8 for about the same price from superformance

http://www.superformance.co.uk/a-308/steering.htm

and some people have used Energy suspension poly bushings, but I was never able to get a part number for these from anyone

 

you can buy me a beer

take a good look around the SF site, shipping isn't cheap so it's better to avoid placing multiple orders like I did...

The aluminum gas cap is very nice and much less than you'll pay over here, also sway bar bushings, brackets, etc.