Steering rack has free play on one side?

Hi all.

My car is a 1991 Swiss spec Testarossa.

Above 160 km/h there is a slight shimmy. Following some investigation I found a few degees fore / aft lateral play in the driver' side front wheel. The bushings, suspension joints and steering rack ball joint are all in good condition, the play seems to be in the left side of the steering rack. The tie rod which emerges from the steering rack bellows has a few mm of free 'in / out' movement.

Is there a way to 'tighten' this free play out of the left side of the steering rack? No equivalent play exists on the right side front. I did replace the bushing in the right side of the rack with a bronze replacement. It appears that side is ok.

Regards to all.

 

Thanks, I will remove the bellows, put the wheels on full lock and examine the inner tie rod. I suspect that is where the looseness (and possibly the shimmy) is. As the other wheel has no free play at all I doubt it is the rack itself.

Never having rebuilt the TRW rack in a TR, I am guessing that the inner tie rod threads on to the rack. Could that loosen over time? I would have thought a retaining clip of some sort would prevent that. If anyone has a picture of the end of the rack or the inside of the inner end of the tie rod (or knowledge of how the two parts join) that would be helpful.

 

Just checked the car. As suspected, he inner tie rod seems to be loose, insofar as the ball end inside the tie rod end has a few mm of movement. Will investigate further. No part number for an inner tie rod (for a TR) from Ferrari, but eBay has plenty (which look very similar) for 430s, 550s, etc.

 

It occurs to me that the ball inside the tie rod end may be a sealed unit. In which case no amount of tightening will change that. While I have not seen an inner tie rod end for a TR for sale separately, some refurbished versions exist for other models which may also fit the TR:

https://exoticautorecycling.com/wp-content/uploads/imported/8/Ferrari-550-Inner-Tie-Rod-New-Reproduced-121686089608.jpg

However, at $325 for a single, aftermarket end, maybe it makes more sense to buy a complete, new rack from Superformance?

 

Tires are brand new, balanced and mounted. 4mm of play in the inner tie rod end works out to be quite a bit more at the edges of the wheel, which could easily lead to the vibration I am feeling.

As I could not locate a new substitute for the worn inner tie rod end I ordered a new steering rack today. I guess I know what I am doing this weekend.

 

Superformance in the U.K. Before shipping just over £500.