I don't mind getting another rebuild kit if it needs it. Yesterday, we had 190 2.3 on the lift. I noticed that the steering design was very similar. For the heck of it, I checked the idler arm on it. Putting moderate force on the passenger side wheel left and right produced a very similar canting of the bolt, as it compressed the rubber bushings inside the housing.

So, can I take from this that there is in fact a normal amount of flex, that is easily seen, that is inherent in the design? I don't assume to know how much flex is too much flex, only that I see similar amounts of flex in both cars.