Stiff steering I have a 2005 nissan altima with 47k. About 2 weeks ago the steering became stiff when turning the wheel for corners. It does this spuratically, not the entire turn. What should we check before replacing the rack?

have a wheel alignment done
check the bearings at the top of the strut that allow the steering to turn
if failed they make the suspension spring wind up which accounts for the load on the steering wheel

if steering wheel becomes very stiff when turning wheel or corners the problem might be slipping power steering belt or partial plugged pressure line at power steering pump open cap and watch and see if there is and abnormal noises/good luck!

Rack may be contaminated or coming apart inside.

You do not have the proper test equipment, repair manuals and training required to test the electric steering, any suggestion would require you buy a complete steering gear, a very expensive part that may or may not fix the problem, your money would be better spent at the dealer.

no noise when turning and stiff steering is usually narrowed down to 2 things. a bad power steering pump or bad rack and pinion assembly. the rack and pinion is most of the time leaking fluid when it is bad, but you stated the fluid is good. I suggest to remove the power steering reservoir cap , start the engine and look inside the reservoir. the fluid should be swirling if the pump is working especially when turning the steering wheel. if the fluid isn' t moving then the pump is most likely bad.

change the steering oil pump.. this will help you for gd :)

the steering wheel gets stiff, because the car died and your power steering pump is stopped. beeing a 1994, you may have a fuel pump issue (nissan had campaign on those), but most likely no longer available to you, because of the age of the car. they purge campaigns out as years go on. you could have an issue with distributor. oil leaks pass the seal and gets inside of the distributor assembly on the signal plate (internal component of distribitor) and messes with the ignition system/spark plugs. you may also have a broken intake gasket. When was the last time you did a tune up?? changed plugs, fuel filter and so on???

hello

its under the bonet against the fire wall you probly need to do it from underneath

Sounds like a bad steering rack & pinion assembly... is it only bad in one direction or both...?
If both then it's the rack assembly... Hope this helps...;-)