Bizarre Steering Gearbox failure/worn out

My 2003 Chevy Tahoe LT 4x4 almost 300k had a first for me that Ive ever seen on any GM fullsize chassis. I had been fighting the front end starting to feel like the front wheels were in sand. Starting from a dead stop and coming to a dead stop the front wheels were zig zagging, along with some oscillation at 35mph+. I checked pitman and idler arm, tie rods, hub bearings and found no play other than original worn ball joints. One day I had the wife wiggle the steering wheel left to right and looked for something in the suspension to flop around or show some wiggle and it was then just by dumb luck I spotted it. The output shaft of the steering gearbox was moving left to right and forward and backward!!! Ive never in my life seen a GM fullsize chassis have that kind of failure on a gearbox. So I got a rebuilt unit from rockauto and installed it. Steering went back to normal and no zig zagging. Cost was like $105 plus core.

If you ever want to upgrade the feel of your steering, try Red Head Steering. It's nice and tight. Add the Mustang II Steering power flow valve to your power steering pump and forget about it!