Cause
Restricted power steering hose
A power steering hose restricted internally, so flow cannot reach the rack. The high pressure hose degrades from the inside, where the liner can delaminate and act as a flap — which is why the outside can look perfect.
The signature is assistance that is inconsistent rather than absent: heavy at one lock, better at the other, or fading as the fluid warms and the liner softens. That asymmetry distinguishes it from a worn pump, which is uniformly weak. Measure pressure at the pump and at the rack — a difference across the hose locates it definitively. Hoses are also where a slow leak lives, and a restriction and a leak in the same hose is common on an old vehicle.
Typically a moderate job.
Codes this can cause (1)
Codes where this is a likely explanation first, rather than merely a possible one.
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