My 26 nova has severe slop in steering. Can assemblies b repaired or do they hafta b replaced?

If the slack is on the square side of the shaft that passes thru the ring, therer are possible cure.
1) There is a company, Mike Lasky sells a oversize shaft.
2) A piece of shim s.s. v shaped on two sides on the shaft then tightened until the slack goes away.
If the slack is on the top, just change the shaft and tiller.
good luck.