I serviced a friends 2012 VW Up last year at 94,000 miles. It has eng code CHYA and gearbox NZC. I mentioned that there was a knocking noise coming from the inner part of the steering rack but I could not detect any play despite removing the track rod ends from the hubs. I asked she bring it back in a few weeks for further examination. This did not happen but at the MOT at 101,000 miles, an advisory was mentioned “play in steering rack inner joints both sides”. The car is coming back to me in a few weeks at 104,000 miles.

My initial thoughts were that the steering rack would have to come off and the inner track rods would need to be checked and replaced. However looking at the service manual, there is an adjustment steering rack procedure for excessive play and knocking noise. The adjustment is carried out by adjusting a screw/bolt AT THE BASE OF THE RACK until the noise has disappeared.

I find this solution rather peculiar and would like a second opinion as to what is being adjusted and how would this compensate for wear.
Thanks