You haven't looked at the intermediate shaft, the one that goes from the firewall to the rack. It has a couple of non replaceable U-joints on it. Have someone watch that shaft while you move the steering wheel.

 

What Alfons said, plus, download the service manual in the sticky at the top of the forum.

Go to page 3571 - it is all shown there - you are not removing the column, but the pinch bolts and the u-joints are shown in that area of the manual.

 

No my mechanic didn't have to take anything apart. It was the bolt labeled #2 on page 3571. I'd post a photo but my phone takes too high quality pictures.

 

I just went to page 3571. Are you talking about the bolt the connects the steering shaft to the steering coupler? Do you use a new bolt?

 

No, you shouldn't need a new bolt. Just tighten it to the torque spec (which is shown somewhere around the same page).

 

If either of the pinch bolts are loose, you could have some slop in your steering or if one or both U-joints are worn, you could also have this slop. You really need to have someone move the wheel while you watch to see where the slop is. When you turn the wheel back and forth within the sloppy sector, see if the intermediate shaft turns, if it doesn't, watch the U-joint near the firewall to see if there's play there or if the split upper part of the joint (where the pinch bolt goes through) is stationary and the inner shaft (the one from your steering column) moves. If the inner shaft moves, take out the pinch bolt to see how it looks (it may have been stripped at some point) and if it's good, pull the split collar tight, then loosen the bolt and re-tighten to torque. It the bolt is bad, replace it with a new one (get one from the dealer or get an aftermarket replacement, not something from your hardware store) and then go through the tightening process. If the intermediate shaft moves, watch along the shaft & the next joint to see where the problem is. If either of the 2 u-joints is sloppy or if the slip joint (the section of the intermediate shaft where the front half slides into the back half) has the slop, you'll need to replace the entire intermediate shaft, but if the front pinch bolt and split collar aren't tight, then just go through the same process I described for the one by the firewall. There's no magic to this, the whole steering system up to the rack and pinion is very simple and you should be able to find your slack with a bit of effort, observation, and logic. You might need some observation help - get someone that has a logical bent, and stay away from "refreshments" until the problem is solved