My cars steering is extremely lose, probably about 1/4th or less of the steering is play. How can I pinpoint the problem? A few people were telling me that the problem is most likely inner tie-rods. But how can I be sure of this? If I jack the car up and try shaking the wheels, it doesn't really pin-point a problem. How can I be sure that it's not the steering rack itself that's garbage?

 

If you jack the car up and move the wheels by hand you can find the loose parts. If you have 1/4 turn of play there is something so seriously wrong you should be able to see it.

 

Where the inner tie rod boots are, I can move them in an out while the car is jacked up. How can I be sure thats the problem is inner tie rods and not the rack itself? There's no way to pull on the **** inside the rack.

 

if it was the rack and the play was at the worm gear then both tires would move together and you would notice that when you reached the end of the play that the steering link would move. if you are only checking one tire at a time and you notice your movement were the boot is then you need inner tie rods