How to tell if a steering rack is good

[jflower]

when i bought my project car the kid selling it told me the steering rack was on its way out and that a good one came with the car. so i have a "good" rack, but considering the condition of the car (which he did not tell me) i have reason to doubt the rack.

what do i need to do in order to tell if a steering rack is good or not?

[UNHCLL]

telltale signs of bad racks....

Excessive play when you move the steering wheel
leaking fluid (remove the ruber boots to check this)

As for how to check one that is not installed...... I dont know.

[808BMW]

Put it in and see. Make sure you get all the PS stuff going, so you can check for leaks, since it seems like everyone's leaks.

[jflower]

we'll see. i might just throw it all away and get an e36m3 rack. that'd solve this problem, but it'd be nice to know whether these racks were good so i could keep one as a spare and sell another.

PS pumps go bad too, don't they? what are the symptoms of those?

word life.