I have about 1 1/2" of play in the wheel before the tires wheels move. so everything is new on the steering, new upper and lower ball joints, new tie rod ends. the only two things i think it could be are the rag joint and the rack itself. i was wondering if these racks have a way to adjust them? i know you can on some but now sure about this one. also if it is the rack and it needs replacing, is there a quick ration rack? i see in the gm catalog online they have a standard rack and a firm ride and handling one. how would i know which rack i have on the car? i just want to get that play out of the wheel. any one have thoughts on this?

There is an adjustment on the front of the rack. Loosen the lock nut and tighten it up a bit. Don't go too far or it will cause excessive binding. If your rag joint it OK and you have that much slop you probably need a new rack and pinion anyway. The regular racks take 2 3/4 turns lock to lock and the firm ride version is 2 1/4 turns. Good luck.

Not to hijack this thread but I have a similar problem but not as excessive. I have about 1/2" of free play in the steering wheel before the steering "catches". The first thing I did was check the adjustment on the rack and pinion. It was only slightly out. Next I checked the rag joint, everything there is tight. But while checking the rag joint I noticed the free play seems to be coming from the steering knuckle just past the rag joint. I'm not sure what you call this, it looks like a drive shaft u-joint between the rag joint and the rack. All the play in the steering seems to be coming from here. So anyway, here's my question; is 1/2" excessive? It just seems a lot more sloppy than it use to be. That would be 1/2" measured at the outside edge of the steering wheel. Once past the 1/2" slack the steering is tight.