Petek,
There are several possible sources of play in the steering. What I would do is...
Check the rack mounting bushings for looseness or softening.
Pull the boot off the inner end of the tie rod so that you can:
Check the radial play between the rack and the rack housing. When the car is jacked up and the wheel is jiggled left and right, can you see or feel if the rack is going up and down? Bad rack.
If you can't feel vertical movement, but the wheel goes in and out a bit with the pinion stationary, it is likely to be bad inner tie rods, or possibly worn rack/pinion gears. Less likely is a bad ball joint or loose wheel bearings. You can detect the latter two maladies if you're getting motion when you shake the wheel in and out at the top and bottom.
If you can feel neither of the above, and the pinion seems to be well connnected to the rack, you're probably losing motion in the coupling.
Many times it's a combination of all the above, just to make your life totally complicated.
