Firstly, which part of the rack has “gone”. It may only be one of the trackrod ends, or ball joins on the end of the rack bar. Both can be changed with the rack in situ in about 15mins.
If it is excess pinion play, the rack may also have an adjustable pinion preload, which means you can simple adjust the play out of the system (ok, it won’t be “like new” but on a 1999 car, working is probably good enough!)
If the rack really is knackered, typically it’s going to cost you £150 for a refurbed one, and depending on how much needs to be removed to change it (anywhere from 30mins to 4hrs, depending if subframe has to come out or not) then you’ll need the cars tracking adjusted (another £50 to £100 quid)
Good enough reason to find out whats actually knackered before charging straight in!
(also, MOT places have a terrible habbit of “failing” stuff so they can, er fix it. I always make sure i tell the MOT station that i will not be using their services to fix any problems, as this tends to magically make the car pass the test…………..)
