JeepFan
Hooked
This is very similar to what I'm dealing with currently. I noticed some play in the wheel recently, so I had my wife turn the wheel while I watched the steering components. Sure enough, I could see the sector shaft splines turning just a tad before it engages the pitman arm (almost as if the pitman arm is too big). The pitman also seemed low ont he sector shaft. I'm also running a synergy sector shaft brace and upon closer inspection, I noticed the top of the sector shaft brace was directly touching the bottom of the pitman arm - seemed odd to me. I checked the large nut which ties it altogether and could easily turn it with a cresent. I later discovered there is supposed to be a mopar lock washer installed between the pitman arm and sector shaft brace. Rather than pay $12 for the factory mopar lock washer, I'm hoping to find one at ACE soon, then bolt and torque it all back together. My hope is the lock washer and the proper synergy sector shaft brace of 150 ft lbs will push the pitman arm higher up on the sector shaft and result in a much more tight fit.
Wow, that's a scary situation! What happened to the original lock washer? I did some research on this back when I was having the issue and found out the factory service manual recommends replacing the nut and lock washer any time the pitman arm is removed. Also, the torque setting for the Power Steering Gear Pitman Shaft Nut is 185 ft lbs. Most standard torque wrenches only go to 150. I ended up renting a 20-250 ft lbs. torque wrench from my local auto parts store to get the job done.
I'm running EVOs sector shaft brace for added protection. EVOs brace includes a special heavy duty nut and washer.
Pic is from EVOs web site.