Play in steering

[greenwagon]

I rebuilt my front suspension a few months ago and everything is riding great, but the car now has about an inch of play in the steering, plus tends to drift to the right when I take my hand off the wheel. I don't have a manual and usually find the info I need on BMW forums and youtube. However, I haven't found any solid info for this problem. I thought I had with the steering coupling or guibo as some have labeled it, but the 1999 528i wagon doesn't seem to have the coupling. The weather is bad and I have to do my work outside in the driveway, so I haven't looked deep enough to see what kind of (shaft, coupling, wearable parts?) this vehicle has. Has anyone got any insight into my problem? Just turned 280,000 miles, so I'm guessing if there is a rubber part to a coupling, it's shot.

[CPHES]

Have you ever replaced the inner and outer tie rods - outer attaches to the strut housing - inner attaches to the rack. Jack the car up, tug the wheels left and right, and you should find the source of the play. Sounds like the right side is worse - play there can cause toe out, and drift.

[StephenVA]

Jack up the car and check the play on each wheel, put you hands at 3-9 o'clock and push and pull until you feel movement. Having a helper will make your life easy