It's the first I've heard of a needle bearings issue. The bump steer was fixed when the stub axles were upgraded somewhere around 2006, when the bushes went back to metal. My car was upgraded by the first owner in this respect. My steering is so light that any bearing decay should become apparent. Is this in the universal joint or base of the steering column Heinz???
I'm at 20,000 miles and so far no problem with the cat seals.
DaveW '05 Red Roadster S1 '16 Yellow (Not the only) Narrow AR GDI Plus 4
