I had a 91 ten years ago, and now own a 92, but I dont remember my 91 being this difficult to steer. It takes more than i would think is enough to turn the wheel. And when going straight, and i need to turn, i need to do at least a good 45 degree turn of the wheel before it seems to even begin to steer in that direction.
There is no loose play in the steering. It just doesnt seem very responsive.
I know zip about steering but if anyone has any ideas or things i could check (or maybe this is normal) i can do it over the weekend.

The car only has 80k miles on it btw.

 

You have a '91 what?

Some 3rd Gen F-Body makes and models have a high effort power steering gear.

Have you considered having the alignment checked?

 

Try replacing the steering box with a quick ratio steering box, and install a wonder bar. Will improve steering and handling some.

 

Before you start replacing parts confirm that there's something wrong with the steering as it is.

 

It was a 91 Z28. Now i have a 92 Z28. Various websites say that the Z28s already came with a quick ratio box and really sought after by people with older vehicles (like from the 60s and 70s). Ill get the alignment checked. But I asked if there's something I could do myself before taking it into the shop. Maybe there is something obvious.

 

Count the turns needed lock to lock.
The box could have been replaced with a base model box.

 

Has the steering/suspension been lubricated recently/regularly?

Did that include lubricating the upper strut bearings? If the bearings are seized your steering effort could be trying to overcome the coil spring windup.

What tires are installed, and what is the inflation pressure?

Is there any noise from the steering column when turning? The lower bearing can dry out and cause excess effort.

Is the steering column coupling (rag joint) intact or disintegrating?

The front end can be raised and placed on stands, and the steering effort checked with the suspension unloaded as a comparison. It would also be a good time to check for loose or binding components.

 

My just replaced my entire front end in my 91Z and still had the same issue as you. My steering box had a ton of play. Any attempts to adjust it fell short. I bought a re-man Cardone box making sure it was the same ratio while at the parts store. It look 3 tries before they found one boxed correctly. I guess Cardone will throw any GM steering gear in a box and label it however they want. Which is somewhere around 2-1/3 or 2-1/5 turns lock to lock if I remember correctly. Bottom line is never to trust that Cardon or any other vendor for that matter, boxed up the one with the ratio you think you ordered. After getting it home and bolted up I still had the same problem. Loose as a goose. These re-mans are supposed to be adjusted properly and they even put yellow anti-tamper paint on the top adjuster so they can tell if you fiddled with it. I chose not to void any potential warranty on the box and simply yanked it back out of the car. Frustrated, I took it back and got my original core and found a local reputable rebuild shop to go through it. Now it's spot on. I told the re-man shop that I attempted to adjust it with no luck. He referred to the adjustment screw on top of the box as the "wish screw". In that most people wish that it would actually adjust the slop out of a Saginaw box.

 

hi there, I'm new here and I actually just improved the steering on my 84 by following a procedure that I read about on here yesterday. on top of the steering box there is a hex screw with a 5/8 lock nut on it. I jacked the front of the car up so that both wheels were off the ground, then I loosened the lock nut and screwed the hex bolt in till I felt resistance and then I back it out about 1/4 turn and tightened the 5/8 nut back up. this removed about 80% of the slop that I had. I think the rest is in the rest of the steering and suspension gear. I'll work on replacing it all soo, but in the meantime the car now drives much better.