Currie TREs ?

I purchases and installed myself a currie steering 5 months ago. I just recently went to get a state inspection and they said that 3 of the 4 TREs failed. That just does not seem right to me. So How do I Check them myself. They put a big pair of pliers up to them and squished them and saw how much movement they had. They showed me and 3 of them moved quit a bit more than the other one. is this how you check them? and how much play should be in them?

They should not have very much play at all.

If your alignment was off it could be stressing your steering and wear them out quicker. I haven't been overly impressed with the Currie steering myself.