rack & pinion seems loose when engine is off??

(yes i actually do have rack & pinion steering. i understand this is very rare.)

even when the truck was brand new, there was a decent amount of play when you twist the drive shaft (engine off). with the engine on, however, there is very little play...twist the drive shaft just a tiny tiny bit and the wheels move. the problem is, whenever i get an inspection, they do it with the engine off and i always get the weird dirty looks and i have to explain that it will help to turn on the engine.

can someone please explain why there is such a difference? is it supposed to be this way? with gearbox steering (which i do not have) is there any difference between engine on and off?

 

thanks very much. it's a 2009 cascadia. they only did the rack & pinion for one year i think. i am home and not with the truck right now but i can try to post a pic later. what part of the steering do you want me to get a picture of specifically? there really is no steering gear per se...it's just the basic rack and pinion setup with the rack, tie rods, steering shaft etc.

btw what happens in a normal gearbox-steering truck when you twist the steering shaft (and does it make a difference with engine on, and with engine off?)?

 

here is basically what my truck looks like:
The Rack and Pinion Steering - How Cars Work
What is rack and pinion steering?

 

that's good to know. thanks for all the info. i wonder if less-experienced mechanics are aware of these things, and i wonder why no one ever wants to test things when the engine is running and the steering is tight! maybe people are just too lazy to wait for the driver to turn the engine back on. anyway thanks again for the info

 

wow that's interesting, thanks. what would happen to the steering when yours kept going out? did it completely fail or just get really hard to steer? i guess i should be very thankful mine has lasted this long and still seems to be ok

 

good to know it didnt send you into oncoming traffic. thanks for the info!