Stop in for a cup of coffee

Here's some possibilities for why the sector gear adjusment is so far down (and not helping).
I had one apart a couple years ago. (The one I'm replacing now).
Slant 6 Abody housings have a bushing at the bottom of the sector shaft instead of a bearing.
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99.9 percent of the time nobody notices the difference. But if that or the other bearings are worn or loose that could explain why the sector adjuster is so low.
Here's some others.
If the adjuster for the worm gear is loose, it can cause the looses in steering and its possible it could move sideways.
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The inside of that adjuster has bearings supporting that end of the worm gear.
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The adjustment on top is for meshing the gears together. They're both cut on angles.
...Worm gear.......................................................................... and sector gear
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If either shaft moves sideway, the sector needs to drop lower to stay in full mesh with the worm's rack.

On this sector gear, I had to take some slop out of the adjuster with a shim (hardened washer).
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Thanks Matt, I'll have to look at that bushing/bearing and see what I have. I did have the entire box apart to rebuild it and as with most I do have the spot where the gears are worn and it feels like it sticks in the center. I thought after I rebuilt and adjusted it properly, the markings I made on the adjustments where actually lower than when I started. It was really bad when I got it so it was an improvement, but for some reason loosened up on me over the past year and now I have a lot of wheel play again.