2007 H2 SUT Steering Issue
 

Just purchased another SUT. It has 96,000 miles on it. There is something going on in the steering though. The PO had replaced the steering box at some point. He said it had a small oil leak. He used the same mechanic over the 2 years or so that he has owned it. When I originally drove it a couple of weeks ago, I noticed it turned much easier to the left than the right. It had an almost break over point when going left that it turned super easy. He told me his mechanic had told him that these vehicles had a power steering "assist". I had never heard this before. Any opinions? It also makes a fairly loud power steering whine. While driving it home I noticed this "breakover" point was quite pronounced. As an example, if you are taking a highway curve at 70 mph to the left and you turn a little past center when it hits this "breakover" the vehicle will take a noticeable move to the left. In addition, I noticed some of the backlit steering wheel controls (volume, source, etc.) are not backlit. Not all, just about half. In thinking about it, I was trying to decide if the steering issue was the tire side of the steering box or the steering wheel side. Any thoughts?