So over the past few days it has been getting harder and harder to turn the steering wheel. It will turn real hard then ease up and then turn hard again, all through the same wheel movement. It is not intermittent, it happens all the time. I've tried the quick WD40 every steering shaft joint that has worked for others with this problem. Any ideas what might be next option?

 

I would first flush the power steering fluid. The power steering requires Mercon transmission fluid. If at some point the system was contaminated by generic power steering fluid, that could cause your issue.

 

What is the best way to go about flushing the entire power steering system?

 

It's a messy process no matter how you go about it, but the idea is to disconnect the lowest point in your power steering as reasonably possible. Then you turn the wheel from lock to lock to spit out most of the fluid from the rack. Then start the truck and let it run for about 3 seconds for the pump to get most of the fluid out of it and the lines. Once that's done, reconnect the line, clean up the mess, and fill it up with Mercon. With the engine running, turn the wheel from lock to lock a few times to work out the air.

That's about it. It will take about 12-24 hours for the air to work it's way out of the fluid. Once that's done, everything should be normal. And make sure that in the future, only Mercon goes in the power steering system of your truck.

You should only need one quart of fluid to do this. If you want to do a little more investigating, you can pull the inner tie rod boots away from the rack to make sure there's no fluid in there. I you do find fluid inside either boot, the rack needs replaced.

 

Sounds to me like either the rack or the pump is on the way out. Flushing at this point probably won't make a difference.

Couple things to check:

Make sure the tires aren't under inflated.

Check the serp. belt to make sure it's not worn out and has proper tension. It could be slipping on the pulley under load and causing a loss of power assist.

There is also a pressure switch in the power steering line that's supposed to raise engine RPM and in turn increase the power assist from the pump when turning the wheels creates higher then normal resistance. Stuff like turning in sand, mud or on dry pavement and low speed, or when towing/hauling a load.