[bo2009]

ideal,
Are you sure you have the nos. right in the illustration, text, first post?

"small amount of slack"
"The creep is very minimal....tap it one way or the other to stop it...."

Kinda normal.
Correcting creep issues can/may be a real pain - even after replacing parts. [Been there, done that.]
Good luck to you with what all you decide to do.

 

[bo2009]

Yeah, replacing any well worn parts found is no doubt a good idea, - dunno about using aluminum tape..........