Pitman arm question

I'm getting ready to put the K frame back in the car, and was looking things over. The pitman arm pivot point, where the shaft goes into the center link moves very, very freely. I don't detect any side to side or up and down loose play, but considering how stiff all the tie rod ends and ball joints are, I was surprised at how easily this moved around.

Also, I've never thought about it before, but it seems that, like the idler arm, that shaft would only rotate in one dimension, along the axis of that shaft. Is that correct that it should rotate on both axis', like a tie rod end and not like the idler arm?

Am I due for a new pitman arm?

You might just put some fresh grease in the pitman arm pivot since you don't see any up/down or side/side looseness. After the front steering is all together, have someone move the steering wheel back/forth and look for any "herky jerky" movement and/or see if it still seems loose when bolted up & greased....in my opinion, it's probably fine.

On the idler arm, you're thinking correctly about it's movement, but just like the pitman arm, it's a "ball & socket" pivot like your hip bone & it's possible for it to move in directions it doesn't "need" to move in. No problem there either... in my opinion.

Will do. I'll take a look around once I get it back together. Easy enough to replace if it doesn't look good.