My '94 is kinda sloppy in the steering, if I were to go down the road and move the wheel from side to side, it feels like I'm on a waterbed. I've replaced the shocks, it's tightened it up a bit, what other possibilities could it be? (Stabilizer rod?)... And how do I inspect whether or not each part is in fact bad (...hate to replace perfectly good parts). Thanks.

 

easy way is to take it in to get an alignment and they will tell you what is worn out and needs to be replaced. when they ask you if you would like then to replace the parts say no.

 

How are the upper and lower ball joints? Any tears in the boots or leaking grease from them? That will also contribute to some sloppiness in the steering.

 

I just had the same problem with my 89 runner and i had to replace upper and lower ball joints as well as tie rods. I also had a broken sway bar link. once everthing was fixed it handled great again. I have also been told it could be control arm bushings are shot.

 

check for play in the idler arm, the bushings in the arm wear out often in these trucks and steering can feel lose,

 

I second that notion. They tend to go out before anything else does. Unless you play hard with your truck. Then, anything is fair game for breakage.

Jack the front end up on stands and grab hold of the idler arm. Move it up and down perpendicular to the steering linkage. If it's all wobbly, it's bad.