Thanks Benzmec for your reply...my mech also thought it was too tight, but no amount of tweaking will cause it to go back to normal.

He now wants to overhaul the steering...I fear a hefty bill.

If I leave it as it is, and bear with the minor inconvenience, will it

1. cause any safety hazard?
2. deteriorate and be very expensive to repair later?

Thanks for your response.