Ok, so i've got some freeplay in my steering wheel. It has happened once before and the service advisor previously was very willing to help me fix it and he did. However, he is no longer working at the stealer anymore. The freeplay is back and so i went in for an alignment (i needed it anyway) and i figured that they could tighten up what needed to be tightened while the truck was up on the lift. The new service advisor looked up my previous tickets and confirmed that the problem had been fixed there before (loose rack bolt). Before i knew it, truck was on/off the alignment rack and back in the "exit lane" at the service center. I went up to check the freeplay and the advisor insists that this is normal! I know that this is not normal because my buddy's 4runner does not do that. His steering has very little freeplay. His even has more miles and is the same year and make as mine. The tech at the dealer also said that the suspension components weren't worn out.

So after i get home, i crawl under the truck while he moves the wheel back and forth. I can see that the freeplay occurs somewhere before the steering rack. The play is actually coming from inside the steering box. When the steering wheel is moving back and forth, the control arms on either side aren't moving at all. So i know that the freeplay is coming form inside the box.

Anyone know which "bolt" the dealer tightened up the first time? Or is there a bolt i can tighten to reduce freeplay inside the box?

thanks