Will,
I have a BJ8 and took my trafficator apart this summer to replace the turn signal wiring harness. To get the trafficator out of the hub, you'll need to back out the three small set screws that you'll find on the back side of the steering wheel hub. The screws are in the 12:00, 4:00 and 8:00 positions. Once you've taken those screws out, the whole trafficator can be gently pulled out of the hub toward you. Because I have an adjustable steering wheel, my hub may be different than yours, but I don't have a retaining nut per se that tightens the wheel onto the stator tube. The end of the stator tube is splined and the steering wheel slides onto it, just like a splined wheel fits onto a hub. A small circular spring retaining clip snaps onto the end of the stator tube and prevents the steering wheel from being pulled all the way off and ending up in your lap. My guess is you most likely don't have play where the wheel meets the stator tube, the play is more likely elsewhere in the linkage.
F.Y.I. The trafficator is a little bit like a Rubic's Cube, but it stays in the wheel hub if using the above process. You don't have to take it apart to get to the stator tube/steering wheel point.
Best of luck
David Z.