Went to recenter the wheel after having the front springs redone this morning. Couldn't find my puller so I used a small hammer to tap the shaft to knock the wheel loose. After putting it back together I now have a sloppy steering wheel, what did I do ????

 

Don't know how hard you hit it, but I have read under other threads that something inside the steering column is designed to collapse in an accident something like 2 or 3 inches. You might try a search on borgeson or steering.