So i have an 87 TII that i have went through and depowered the rack properly removing the seals, ect.

Now the issue that i have found..atleast on mine so far.
The last event i went to I had failed tech for the first time due to "unsafe wheel bearing play". Now thats funny considering that the wheel bearings were replaced justa week prior. I always triple check all my work since im fairly paranoid with something failing while mid corner at 60mph+ lol.

So i put the car on stands and started wiggling the wheels and come to find the play is not front the hubs but the rack itself...If i wiggle up and down i can watch the tierods on both sides move up and down apprx. 1~2mm. its enoough to feel.

I feel like its the shaft moving because we are told to cut the seal off in the write up and now there isnt anything to keep the shaft centered.

Has anyone else ran into this issue??

 

Ive always wondered about this, this is why I swapped in a true manual rack actually. I depowered the power one but couldnt trust using it.

 

Did you weld the pinion?

 

no i didnt know what the pinion was lol. I didnt see anything else that had any sort of play. Nothing on the pinion shaft has anything that moves really.

 

I went true manual as well instead of depowering mine... I feel better about it being a true manual instead of a depowered rack

 

Actually, there is but whether it's welded up or not wouldn't cause the issue you describe.
I've depowered a couple of racks and haven't seen the play you describe, so I have no idea.

 

Well, if you did not weld the pinion you did not do it the proper way

You might need to check this:
tighten the nut to adjust the pinion, too loose and the teeth are not aligned properly and that could cause play in the teeth