I've been noticing vibration from my steering wheel for several months now in particular when I brake. Please note the rotors and pads have only 10k miles on them and my car has 65k. Today I jacked up the car and pushed and pulled on the front driver side tire side to side and they gave a lot of play plus noise. I did the same on the passenger side and it did the same as the driver side.... So my initial thought was that this was normal. Next I got underneath the car and notice leaks on both sides of the steering rack I checked the power steering reservoir but it's at the same level as when I last drained and filled it 2 years ago on hot high.

Below are some videos. Please note when the tire moves the only tie rod that gave play was the inner tire rod. Do I need to replace the whole assembly rack or can I just replace the inner tie rod? The outer tie rod gave no play.

On another note these vibrations may have cause the brakes to wear unevenly but that's an easier fix than the steering rack. And I won't be resurfacing the rotors until the steering issue is resolved.

Thanks!

 

In the first video, was that actual play in the rack itself or was the steering wheel also moving with your wheels? If it's the former then you have a SERIOUS problem buddy.

 

I ended up installing a remanufactured steering rack and all is good. This was my first attempt at this but the removal and installation was surprisingly easier than anticipated. When the steering rack was off the car I found the cause of my problem which was the driver's side inner tie rod being extremely limp instead of being firm. I should note after installing the new rack and getting an alignment the steering wheel did continue to shake when applying the brakes, so, new rotors and pads were installed. Sorry, no pics or vids on the removal or install but it's pretty straight forward when you're underneath the car.