Steering box got loose

Hey all!

So, realized that the steering box was loose one evening because I heard a clunking sound. When I popped the hood and reached in to turn the wheel slightly to the right and back again, I was able to visibly see the steering box rocking a bit. It was too late in the evening to do anything about it, so I waited until the next day.

Next day I inspect the steering box again and can see that the two bolts closest to the engine block are loose. I jacked up the car in order to tighten the bolts.

Before doing so, I pulled the two loose bolts out for inspection. I noticed that the the bottom bolt didn't have a lock washer and it sure didn't look like any of the bolts I had salvaged from a 74 Valiant in the local wrecking yard. The top bolt had a nut, which I was surprised to see.

I compared the bottom bolt that I pulled out to one of the salvaged bolts and not only was the thread not the same, but the diameter was smaller on the bolt I pulled out. So, I took the salvaged bolt and threaded it into the mounting hole. It threaded in without any binding at all. I decided to use the salvaged bolts along with the factor lock washers.

I tightened all 3 bolts to 100 lbs, dropped the car, and checked for noise. The noise was gone and the steering box was no longer rocking, but I did noticed a tiny bit of flex. I'm assuming the K-member was flexing.

It it normal to see some flex there? Can something be done about that flex?

Another issue is that now the steering wheel is turned to the right in the 1 to 2 o'clock position.

I don't know if that's because the steering box was slightly twisted originally due to the smaller diameter bolt used, or because I tightened it down wrong. Any guesses?

Thanks!