shimmy from steering rack? and inner tie rod experience

[tastyratz]

So I have had a nasty shimmy on my car at highway speeds I have been ignoring for some time now (I know I shouldn't)
Same shimmy summer/vs winter rims and tires. Maybe a little worse on 17s probably from stiffer sidewalls.

ksport springs and 10k mile tokiko shocks. 3 piece ES bushing TC rods. no bearing noise heard or top down play.

Installed hub centric rings no dice.

Outer tie rods are fine both sides.

Inners flop like beached whales and wont support their own weight disconnected but don't have slop that pops in the joint itself (no clicking when pulling in and out etc. Both sides are this way

Drivers side felt looser so I had 1 tie rod and swapped out the DS last night. pass side spinning rod in joint felt resistance, drivers none. Just didnt have 2 rods to use.

Today the problem actually feels WORSE. nothing up to 60mph or so... slight shimmy but then 65-70mph it gets worse so much faster than before - EXTREMELY violent at 70mph scare the crap out of me bad. Under 60 car feels great

When removing the inner last night i used a big ass adjustable and slipped a 19mm wrench over the rack to counter it. I had to really crank to get it off so I don't think I really fully got to counter support the rack.
How many of you have pulled inners with experience successfully (probably not even bothering to counter)?

I know what the book and the net says SHOULD be done... but I am looking for EXPERIENCE
really necessary or rarely needed don't worry about it precaution? How likely am I to damage the pinion that way and actually worsen my issue?

I noticed last night car off the rack seemed to feel really loose and have a lot of slop visually in the rack. Should I be alarmed? Could that really be my issue after all? What about adjusting the retainer? fsm doesn't really have crap on it.

Thoughts?

[SoSideways]

I stuck a big adjustable wrench on the square part of the inner, then stuck my floor jack on the adjustable wrench's handle, and cranked on the jack.

It broke loose after a few cranks on the jack.

Hydraulic pressure > .

And no, I didn't use anything to counter it.

Make sure you're turning counter-clockwise. Lefty-loosey.

[slider2828]

There are like 10 million threads on this stuff.... Why not search? Its been answered so many times....

To check tie rods you put the rack back and everything connected... You yank on the rods while teh car is lifted... Check for ANY play in any direction... If there is any play in the inner or outer, just replace them... Done deal.

I have replacement inners from moog and megan outers that are for sure good.... Just hit me up... I'll let them go pretty cheap..... but check for any play.... Rack usually only has center play, but that is pretty rare....

[tastyratz]

yup plenty of threads on changing them, I wanted first hand on counterbracing and rack play. There isn't crap on adjusting retainer tension either and the fsm gives it 2 sentences.
Edit: What IS the rack retainer anyways? Is it some sort of a rack preload on the rack itself? Is it just a nice way of saying make sure the rack is bolted down tight on the bushings? Has anyone messed with it themselves? I'm guessing its option 1 - which if that's the case pinion to rack tooth slop could be my whole problem?
fsm picture is crap too

[slider2828]

I mess with the rack retainer.... Its the big nut with a small 12mm nob on it. Basically it reduces or increases rack tension. Turn the center nob while the big nut is not moving clockwise and it tightens the static tension on the rack. The other way makes it more loose... This should have no affect during driving, just initial tension while making a turn... I suspect something else is wrong with your rack....

Change your inner and outter tie rods first cause that sounds like the problem....