09 F350 steering gear loose

[amailloux]

This is my personal truck so I am ok with it being down for a week or more. My pitman shaft has a very large amount of play. Maybe 1/4 inch or more side to side when doing a dry park check. I believe there is a needle bearing down there as opposed to a bushing just inboard of the piman shaft seal. Amazingly it is not leaking yet. Has anyone changed that bearing, re sealed the box and properly adjusted with good luck. I found a couple new gears on eBay for about 300 clams. I was considering just adjusting mesh preload on truck by measuring preload at the wheel with the pitman ball disconnected, but the play seems excessive and I am unsure if this will cause further rapid wear.

[ktmlew]

I would imagine the shaft is brinelled badly? Junk.