hbomb2k

Just picked up a 94 formula with 118k and the car initially had an insane amount of steering play (like a 1/4 turn). Threw it up on a jack and shook the wheels and the rack itself moved back and forth. Low and behold the rack mount bolts were completely loose. Tightened those suckers down and it got a lot better, still though there was a lot of play, like 15 degrees or so. The car has LTs so I suspected the rag joint, sure enough it is totally shot:



Ls1 steering shaft is on the way... In the mean time I decided to remove the the old steering shaft, and this is where I found another issue. The input shaft to the rack has a small amount of side to side movement (like 1-2mm).



Here is my question, is this tiny amount of play anything to worry about, and if so what should I do?
There are a few options, could this be fixed by setting the steering rack bearing preload?
http://shbox.com/1/4th_gen_tech2.html#rack_preload
Or could I just replace the input bearing?
https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...E&gclsrc=aw.ds

I really do not want to do a new rack as I am trying to stay on a budget, and other than this play the rack turns great and is free of leaks.