About 3 months ago I replaced the worn-out steering rack on my 88 camry wagon with a rebuilt unit. It was fine for about six weeks. Then I noticed it getting a "dead-zone"/play in the steering wheel. 2 weeks ago the power steering went out all together...but it was not sudden.... over a period of days it just got stiffer and stiffer, until there is no p/s at all now. Also the "deadband"/play is getting worse, there is about 5 in. of slop in the steering wheel now. The fluid level is still normal, hasn't leaked any. Also the belt and pulley are working fine. THe pulley IS turning. The coupling to the steering column looks fine also. The steering has not, and is not, making the slightest noise.
I guess I was sold a defective steering rack (from rockauto.com)? How do I check whether or not the pump is still pumping? The hydraulic lines at reservoir are a bit too stiff to tell anything by squeezing them. Come to think of it, since the reservoir cap is not sealed tight for high pressure, I guess there is not normally any pressure to those two lines. Thanks, Geronimo