Every which way but loose......

[Tinkerin_wit_tools]

My wife's 99 Blazer 2wd for some time has had a loose steering wheel. Since I took it into the shop, while the mechanic had it up on the lift, I took advantage and looked at all the tie rods and linkage. They all seemed nice and tight to me. It may be a dumb question to ask, but is it possible that the steering wheel itself needs to be tightened to the column??? Forgive me, but I had to ask. Just didn't know if something as simple as that could be a possibility instead of looking at diagnosing the underbelly of the car. Anything to keep me from doing any more dirty work than is necessary......

[MagicRat]

With the engine off, but the steering wheel unlocked, have your wife sit in the car and wiggle the steering wheel back and forth just an inch or two, just enough to go side-to-side in the loose area, so to speak.

Now get under the hood and under the car. Find the steering shaft. Is the shaft moving with the steering wheel, or it is moving much less?
You will probably find a coupling of some sort in the shaft. Is this loose?
Next look at the steering box. Is the shaft moving back and forth nicely where it goes into the box?
And below, is the pitman arm moving with the movements of the shaft?

It is possible for the wheel to be loose, but this is pretty rare, because it has splines holding it on. The nut holding the steering wheel may loosen up, but the splines still hold the wheel tight. The wheel would physically need to come off in your hands in order to be loose.

It's much more likely the play is in the steering box (which can be adjusted) or in a steering shaft coupling.