I have a 96 Dodge Intrepid, notorious for steering problems, with loose steering. I've had it about a year now and since eveeryone had said they don't know how I can drive it with it so bad I poked around the tie rods, steering gear, etc. What a surprise, the two steering gear mounting bolts on the driver's side are out about 3/4 of an inch. They are tight (frozen, cross threaded?), but allow the steering gear to move up and down about the same 3/4 of an inch. I just want to be sure this is as wrong as it seems to be. This is my first trip into this steering system and I've learned that sometimes things that seem really wrong really aren't. My manual doesn't hint at any play like this. By the way, if it is supposed to be like this, why? Thanks for the help.

My mother has a 97 Camry LE with about 45K on it. I was driving it yesterday and noticed that the brake pedal feels "hard". It almost feels as if the pedal is pressing back when you try to apply it. It also takes a while to come to a complete stop, it kind of glides. If you slam on the pedal as hard as you can the car will NOT stop short, no matter what you do. I'm not sure if this is related but she told me that the emergency brake light will not go out, even when it isn't on. Thanks for any help you can offer me. ---- Tom