Loose Steering Rack (internals)?

[petek]

I've got the finish line in sight with my Cobra build. Towed the Cobra behind my wife's Expedition today, first time I've ever towed anything heavier than a tiny sailboat. Tomorrow I get the car inspected by the Highway Patrol; today I attempted to get the front end aligned - and that's when I ran into a problem.

The fellow that was doing the alignment locked down the steering wheel with a fixture (making sure the ignition was on and the steering wheel wasn't locked by the ignition locking mechanism). He then raised the front end of the car, grabbed one of the wheels and jiggled the wheel. The steering rods moved in and out of the rack, the steering coupling to the steering column rotated a bit, but the steering wheel did not move.

The alignment fellow said that the steering rack was shot and that it should not have this much play (or any play for that matter). I asked him about the steering column coupling rotating and he really didn't have an answer.

I'll be putting the Cobra back in the garage tomorrow to check out the steering rack and linkage to the steering column, but does anyone have any pointers or suggestions? (Mustang II rack, Chevette tilt column, CRL linkage between the two.)

thanks!