Certainly true of rudder pintle bearings on a sailing yacht I once owned. The nylon had expanded in seawater and picked up on the lower stainless pintle, splitting bearing. A Delrin replacement was turned up. This material is still not perfect in avoiding water absorption but far less so than nylon. I believe Vesconite is current favourite.

FWIW just re-assembled the rack pre-load system on my six year old 31,000 mile Roadster with barely any steering play. No moisture in there but liquid grease. Plunger part was a very snug fit in threaded adjuster so took a smidge off with oiled wet and dry to offset any further expansion. Satisfying pop when greased and pulled out. Test drive revealed steering less lively over bumps so a small but worthwhile improvement. Absolutely no play at wheel now either.

Important not to put more than a smear of grease on plunger/spring/adjuster assembly, to avoid hydraulic lock up when finding fully screwed in position, before backing off.

Richard

2018 Roadster 3.7
1966 Land Rover S2a 88
2024 Royal Enfield Guerrilla 450
1945 Guzzi Airone