Loose MII/Pinto steering rack

[BigAl]

I cheeped out when I purchased my steering rack. It's a Carquest rebuilt, 3 bolt mount, million turn to lock unit of unknown ratio. When it was new and before installed it seemed tight in relation to any slop between the rack and pinion gears. When I first drove the car it seemed to have a little play/looseness but it wasn't bad enough to pursue. Now 3000 miles later I can move the steering wheel 2" side to side without any steering change. This doesn't make for very sporty handling.

It's visually obvious the slack was in the steering gear so I finally removed the top cover to investigate. I found a nylon/plastic disk that seems to hold pressure against the rack and pinion gear. This Nylon disk has a spring on top
that wedges against the top cover. This apparently allows the pinion gear to slightly ride away and off the rack gear under steering pressure as the spring compresses against the cover.

I was inclined to remove the spring altogether and replace it with a stack of washers but I didn't do so because I figured it has to be there for a reason
so I just added a couple of washers under the spring to make it extra tight. After reassembly I took the car for a drive and wow what a difference. The car steers great and has no more play/looseness.

So now for the questions.

Are all of these racks built that way?

What is the purpose of the spring?

Do you think my modification will cause any problems?

Why couldn't I ditch the spring altogether?

I know I should probably get a Flamming River or some other high end priced rack.

Thanks

Al