85K miles and steering is loosening up

OK, Some help asked for here please. I have, to the best of my ability, determined that the intermediate shaft and the 2 u-joints are fine but the problem appears to be in the lower shaft that connects to the rack. I am not ruling out the rack here, but I am taking this one step at a time. Does anyone have experience replacing the LOWER steering shaft part # 4522147041 that attaches to the rack? Do I need to drop the rack to replace or? Thank YOU in advance!