I believe that my steering rack is getting worn out as it appears that I have quite a bit of play in the front end.  I noticed it when I had the front end up in the air while installing new brake pads up front.  I'm pretty sure it's the rack and not the joints, but I'll certainly check it out further before proceeding with any purchases.  Of course now that I notices the looseness in the steering rack, I have a heightened awareness of steering wheel chatter/vibration in my hands, so I need to do something soon.
Since I may have to replace the rack, I'm thinking seriously about upgrading to power steering.  If I do this, my wife would be a wee bit more willing to drive the van.  Not a big deal, but it would be nice to get to be a passenger every now and then.
On one of the vendor sites, they show a "rebuilt" power steering rack and "new" manual rack for the same price, so at least this part of the cost is a wash.  Of course, I'd need some power steering hoses and they'd have to be special for my Subie 2.2 PS pump.  This would cost more, but may be worth it.
Anybody done the conversion?  Do I need a lot of extra parts?  Thanks for any input.
David Wilhite
84' Westy