Steering: heavy steering, intermittent assistance

[Chesney46]

Originally Posted by ampmaster

Thanks for the info. The symptoms of this one are different though. I have completely flushed and replaced the fluid, checked all pipes and reservoir. The steering feels as though the power is only working at 50% with tights spots as you steer where it drops off altogether. If you try and turned the steering quickly you cannot. There is no assist at all.
At first I suspected the pump but it only marginally improves with higher revs. With the car turned off and the wheels jacked up, trying to turn the wheels from lock to lock from the road wheels results in very tight spot where it jams and a huge effort is required to get it moving again. Pretty sure it is a rack problem. It is a low(ish) mileage XC60 that has always been dealer serviced but come to me as a non runner. I was not expecting a problem with the steering.

Check the uj from the column to the rack. Give it some lube and try it. May help and it's very low cost.