hello everyone, i just replaced my tie rod, and went to go test the steering while the front end was still off the ground. When i turned the wheel to the left i had no problems, when i went to turn it to the right i met some resistance until suddenly i heard a pop noise and the steering was met with no resistance. After i turned the car off, i got out of the car and noticed a peace of the car was on the ground that wasnt there when i got in the car, after a quick look i found that the peace WAS a cap that sat on top of the (rack?) where the steering coloum connects to the the steering arm. under the cap is a somewhat small but heavy (a lot of resistance) spring. I did not notice any fluids dripping from the place where the spring sat and no pools under the car.

What i need to know, is this something that needs to be fixed right now, or am i just going to loose power steering?

if you guys need a picture i'll get one up when i get off of work.