Play in steering rack?

[m3jappa]

I am re bushing my Tuscan and doing new ball joints, track rods etc etc.

Just had a mechanic/mate round to help remove the track rods (as I’m too weak :hehe)

Upon holding the nut which holds the track rods in an attempt to loosen it he said about the actual rack itself having some up and down play in it. He said it could just be the tooth and gear as side to side there’s no play in the wheel.

Does that sound normal, he said not to worry but thought I’d ask here as well. Unless you were trying to undo a mentally tight nut with loc tite you wouldn’t know!

[TekoTime]

A lot of steering racks do have some adjustment in the lash between the rack and pinion. I don't know what kind of rack the Tuscan uses hut look for a large (~30 mm) grub screw or cover on the rack casing where the column goes into the rack. There are guides online on how to adjust it. If you have a screw type, you would just need to tighten it the right amount (might be a smaller grub screw on the side to stop the large one winding out), or if you have one with a cover you will need to add shims underneath.

[normalbloke]

Are they TVR specific or from another car? If it comes to it, I can highly recommend ACS Power Steering in Tamworth if you need a refurb. Just had my Mk1 Focus RS rack done, and it’s never steered better!