A vehicle steering assembly comprises a steering member with a rack portion having rack teeth, a pinion gear having pinion teeth configured to be engaged with the rack teeth, a yoke support assembly supporting the steering member in a housing, and a ball nut operatively connected to the steering member. The pinion gear divides the steering member into a first side having the yoke support assembly outboard of an area of engagement of the rack and pinion teeth and a second side having the ball nut. The yoke support assembly includes complementary convex and concave bearing surfaces configured to provide relative rotation between the convex and concave bearing surfaces. The yoke assembly also includes a spring member configured to produce a variable rate spring force to maintain an engagement between the rack and pinion teeth.