It is the distance of movement that you can turn your steering wheel without it actually turning your tires. "My first car had a lot of play in the steering."
Axle shaft, steering shaft, drive shaft, distributor shaft
Axle shaft u joint or the steering knuckle.
replace worn steering parts rebuild steering shaft
Axle shaft seal.Axle shaft seal.
If you did the drive shaft would not hook up and you would have no steering ability.
Sounds like a drive axle half shaft. Have it replaced. Not that expensive.
Most shaking in the steering wheel on ANY vehicle is caused by balance problems. The tire can be out of balance, the wheel can be bent or the axle (half-shaft) can be damaged and out of balance.
After you remove the wheel, remove the caliper and caliper mounting bracket. There is a nut on the end of the axle shaft. Remove the nut. There are three bolts on the back of the steering knuckle that hold on the wheel bearing. Remove these bolts. Then with a punch or chisel and hammer, strike the axle shaft until the old bearing comes out. Reverse procedure to install. Don nut re-use the axle shaft nut. Do not under- or over-tighten the axle shaft nut. Torque for the nut is 180 ft lbs.
Axle
The axle shaft is retained from the inside with a horseshoe looking clip.The axle shaft is retained from the inside with a horseshoe looking clip.
To remove the axle shaft, first remove the wheel, and brake drum/rotor. Second, remove the differental cover. Third, remove the bolt holding the spider gear shaft, and remove that shaft. Fourth push inward on the axle shaft to remove the horseshoe clip on the inside. The axle shaft will now pull out.
The 1998 GMC Jimmy front axle shaft torque specification is 60 pounds. You want to make sure that you do not over torque the axle shaft, as you can ruin the axle bearing.