driver fender damaged now rack pinion power steering clunking
 

hello
car was in a minor accident recently
the driver fender was damaged
they painted it and fixed it in two days

but now there is clunking noise when pulling out of the driveway
or turning the wheel
I think it may have even been clunking stopped in a parking lot at idle...

anyway, insurance says they think the clunking is the rack and pinion and need new upper control arms
but... they wont fix it since they claim it could have been caused by wear and tear even though it never clunked before this accident

the rack and pinion failure is a common issue on the RX8s?
do you think unplugging the battery for awhile to reset the DSC and cleaning the connector under the airbox will help?
nothing in the driver fender, connectors or anything related to the power steering, right?

Whah. They think it's the rack and pinion, but also the upper control arms? This makes no sense.

It could be the rack, but is it just a noise or do you feel the clunks through the steering? If you do, that sounds more like the rack.

If you don't, I'm thinking tie rod bent or the joint where it connects to the hub is worn out. That last one is very dangerous if true. You don't want that to come apart.

Check for play in each frong wheel with the car in the air. In-out, left right and up-down play. There should be none. While it's up, check all the hub joints visually as well.