The way to check any front end components is by employing the four P's; push, pull, pry and prod.

The steering box is definitely one of the few achilles heels found on the 123 cars. I had an extra box at one point and did exploratory surgery.

It's been awhile since I did this so I no longer have a clear picture in my head, but basically there are a couple of places that could be adjusted with shim stock cut into a circle. Earlier boxes provided adjustment via threaded pieces, but you would have to use shim stock on these.

I even considered making a sideline business of adjusting and selling on an exchange basis. If I did that it would justify whatever die set I would have to make to cleanly cut shim stock for this use.

Have a great day,