The steering in my 97 civic dx(95,000 km,power steering) has some loosness between the 11 and 1 o'clock position.This is most noticable now that it is cold and gets better as it warms up.My mechanic feels that it is the steering rack.Honda said that this is not unusual in a civic.Is this a common characteristic/problem with Honda steering? If it is the rack can I replace it with something better? I don't think it is the power steering because it is present when the car is not running.

Right now there is nothing in the market to fix this problem.

You can check your Tie rod bushings and make sure they are still good but, that's about it. Honda's are known for this problem.