Question

I don't know of a method of inspection that asks the tester to shake the road wheels at 3 and 9 o clock positions with the road wheels clear of the ramp platforms. The worst offending vehicle I have ever had with rack and pinion inner track rod joints being worn if I remember correctly was a Ford fiesta, I remember the free play was in the nearside front and it was very significant, significant to the extent at that time that I decided I was not going to roller brake test the front wheel brakes. 

It is one thing for anybody, mechanic, layperson or an agency to say that tonnes are required to break away a joint, but truthfully it is not about weight, it is about force, these tensile forces are normally only known to the designers and specialists who test them. Nothing to do with the mot test standards, but to understand the wear limits in the steering rack, these are well documented in wheel alignment data sources provided in mm, degrees and degrees -1/100. When the tester asks the assistant to rock the steering, the tester having a minimum experience of 4 years servicing and repairing cars should know from that experience when the steering rack joints are worn such that they need to be advised. A keen eye should know from tyre wear when problems are present.