For about a year my '74 2.0 began developing a slop in the steering. I could turn the wheel 1/2 inch either way with no resistance or wheel movement on the ground. Typical of me thinking the worst, I was preparing to either replace the steering coupler or, since I have a whole new rack assembly with the coupler, to pull whole shebang and replace it all.

Luckily, before doing anything, I decided to take a peek at the steering shaft u-joints inside the cabin. Sure enough, the joint closest to the firewall was loose. A one minute tighten job of the 14mm bolt and suddenly I had perfectly tight steering again!

Moral of the story- NEVER ASSUME THE WORST before fully investigating a problem. Something I just never seem to learn.

Ansbacher

Always check the easist to identify possibke causes.
I once thought i had a bad trans in a Ghia. As i was about to remove the last bolt to drop the trans my friend dropped by and pointed out the castle nut on the brake drum was loose and allowed the shaft to strip the splines. He had a good laugh.

Whoa! Thankfully they are notched so a lose nut/bolt will still steer as long as the bolt is in place.

Scary though and good catch!

Now I have to go look...