Half Inch Play (Movement ) in Steering Wheel
 

98 A4 1.8 Quattro B5 has 1/2 inch play in steering....very annoying and dangerous.
ALL NEW suspension , front and back. I suspected bad 2 year old rack.
Had it re- aligned the other day , and tech said rack was good .....play was in steering
knuckle joints.... Is this common to B5's ? Is it usually the joint at the rack.....or the one above in the car ?
If it is lower joint, can it be changed without dropping entire steering column ?
I picked up a used lower joint section in excellent shape, the one that connects to steering rack, but it looks to me , like
steering column must be dropped in order to install.....any comments welcome.
Pete
Hudson Valley , N.Y.