Slack in steering shaft

Sorry! Fixed the image link...

I heard elsewhere that many folks remove the lock mechanism for the track so they can shut down quickly without the steering being locked in the event of a stuck throttle etc.....I dont care if the column locks or not...just want to get rid of the slop...I think the missing snap ring is the key for me.....if I can find that....

here is another photo...shows the indicator I am talking about....there is no slot on the side for a shifter handle so its not a column shift unit.....