Nexstar 102 SLT focuser fix?

[Apostate]

Hello

I bought myself one of these scopes - OTA only - for a small amount of money just to try out a refractor (I have a 150mm newtonian).

The first chance I got I took it outside and mounted it up. I then wished I hadn't bothered - the focuser was horrible! The drawtube wobbled and slopped back and forth on the pinion like.. well like a horribly poorly engineered.. thing. I adjusted the tension in the rack and made a small improvement, but in order to stop most of the wobble I had to lock the drawtube down with the tension screw so much it would no longer move without effort enough to move the whole mount.

I gave up and the scope went into the shed and stayed there.

Now I have the idea that it might make for a decent guide scope (side by side with the newt).. but how can I improve the focuser? I attach a photo of the offending unit..

Has anybody got any ideas?

TVM