'98 ES 300 92,000 miles - No leaks from the power steering pump, at least not onto the garage floor
When driving and the steering wheel is in the 12 o'clock position the stiffness is minimal. Once I turn and go maybe a quarter of a turn the steering gets very stiff. Once I've made the turn, steering wheel won't come back to center. I have to turn it back. I would think pump, but its not really that hard to turn from center to 1/4 turn.
I would think if it was the pump it would be hard to turn no matter what position the steering wheel was in.
Not sure if my problem is the rack or the pump.
No squealing, fluid looks good, level seemed fine.
Problem also doesn't get better once the car is warm. Sometimes it does feel sort of better, not much though.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

i had the same problem, mine was because i was using regular gas instead of premium, lol gg

 

loose belt, or engine boost controller

 

Good news.....it's fixed and it didn't cost me a dime. It was the universal joint on the steering column. I lubricated it with some PB Blaster and turned the wheel back and forth several times and the problem was gone. I sprayed it with a little grease and off I went.
Thanks for the posts.

 

you want to post some pictures on where that is located??

 

so you hit it up with white lithium grease and now it's good?? that's good. i think there was a TSB for certain lexii about the joint