Manual Steering Adjustment

I like to tighten the adjusting bolt down as far as I can at first, then back it off while spinning the input shaft through its travel. It helps to have a pitman arm on the output and a pot connector to spin the input if you have the box in a vice. With the output shaft down and input facing you, the master spline should be pointing up when centered. When turning through its travel it should feel snug(not rough) within about 3/4 turn either way from the center, with no slop. And no preload(or freely traveling) on the outside of the travel, with minor slop. Unfortunately all manual boxes have a small amount of slop when at the far ends of their rotation, especially with the stock 24:1 worm gear. You're right, it is difficult to feel that 8-14 inch lbs. without having a lot of experience, its even harder to explain without my frantic hand gestures. So, snug in the middle and free on the ends. Hope this helps.