I'd lift the front wheels and pull, push, wiggle, etc. each wheel and the steering wheel while someone watched the rest of the movement. Somewhee there is excessive play.

And the pinch bolt is probably the most dangerous place. I have three of these since I relocated my steering wheel further outboard.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I'm not sure what to make of this.  I took the pinch bolt out of the column spline and I couldn't seem to remove the column.  So I drove it around the cul-de-sac like a crazy man and it wouldn't break loose.  One thing I noticed when I got down there, was the fact that the bottom of the column, at the spline, didn't rotate around the centroid of the shaft when I turned it.  That didn't seem right.

Quite a few of the later MPi racks have got a continuous groove around the pinion instead of a slot.  If the pinch bolt at the bottom of the column isn't clamping the column to the pinion tightly, it will 'chatter' and wear the splines off the inside of the column.  Eventually, the splines give up and the steering wheel just goes round and round and round and round without having any effect on the road wheels are doing... I can assure you this is a deeply disturbing experience.

As Chuck says, check the the pinch bolt is done up tight and that there is a gap between the two halves of the clamp. 

If the clamp is touching, I tend to remove it and run a hacksaw blade up through the middle to increase the gap and ensure that the clamp will close on the pinion splines and not on itself.

The odd part is that it is only when your driving.....???  

   true story.... it ain't going ta do in a parking lot....

                                hows your tires and tire pressure ..???        i don't think it's your rack...

If there is any steering wheel slack at all with the pinch bolt tight, your rack needs a rebuild. There should be NO slack.
Be aware that recent aftermarket racks are non-repairable. You put them in the bin (where they belonged from new).

How much play is too much? My steering wheel probably has about 1/4 to 1/2 inch that you can turn back and forth when driving straight before it does anything. 

And by the way, that pinch bolt really needs to be tight. I had mine come loose once when turing into a parking lot, I think it was after fiddling around with trying to fit a column drop bracket. (I couldn't understand why anyone would want one after trying it. I had to lower my seats just to get some space between myself and the steering wheel, the last thing I would want is to have it down in my lap.)

Anyway, having it come loose was pretty scary.

Check the pinch bolt tighness at the bottom of the column.

I'm having the same problem with my steering.  Could you tell me what the solution to your problem was?

Thanks.

Good notes! I don't believe losening any of those bolts or nuts, but never know! Vibration and such could of caused it. I will look at it when it is not 100000 degrees out!

haha.

Might be a couple days :(

More important, make sure the the clamp bolt at the bottom of the steering column is tight AND that when the column turns, the pinion it is clamped to also turns. DO NOT drive the car until you're satisfied that all is well with this test.

Does it have play when you are not moving ? Check to see if the four nuts holding the rack in place are tight.

Hey Guys,

1999 40LE Mini.

I have about 35k on the car. See if you can pin point what it is.

When you are going around a corner or manuevering, I need to turn the steering wheel just a little bit more to compensate for what I really need. It is like I need to turn the steering wheel and extra 3 inches before the steering responds. The odd part is that it is only when your driving. Does my rack need rebuilt?

I have brand new tie rods and upper/lower ball joints. This was doing this before I installed my Sohc Vtec. Now with more power, its a little dangerous at times