'81 Westy with manual steering.

Prior symptoms: Steered ok, but on highway, straight no bumps,
steering feels like it has *intermittent* ~ 1/4 - 1/2" play.

With hands on wheels:

Driver side. 6/12:00: tiny play. 3/9:00 OK.
Passenger side: 6/12 or 3/9: OK.

Watching driver side wheel, no play in steering at centre or near hard
right or left position.

What I did:

Front up, turned steering wheel slowly to hard right. Steering
slightly harder during last turn. Turned 3/4 turn to left, I heard a
loud "clack!"

Sound was repeatable, but then stopped.

Front down, turned wheel L/R and bounced front end several times.

Van back on stands, couldn't recreate the "clack" noise.

Would a failing steering rack "clack"? Rack likely has 350K++ km's on it.

I have a spare '85 rack. Can it be bench tested?

I can't repeat the sound so I'm concerned and hesitate to drive it
until I find the problem.

TIA for any help or diagnostic tips!

Neil.

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