I have a 98 Toyota Camry. A couple of days ago I noticed that the first turns in the morning were as if I did not have power steering at all. I assumed it was because of the cold weather at night (38-45 degrees). After about 2 minutes things are back to normal. Now I have a squeak in my steering wheel on even the slightest movement left or right. Wat could be the problem
You have two separate problems. The heavy steering is due to leaky or failing seals in the rack-and-pinion steering assembly. Repairs will be costly; you may prefer to simply live with the problem. The squeak is caused by something rubbing your steering column. This is harmless, should you choose to ignore it as well. Or you can take a screwdriver to remove the upper and lower plastic steering column covers and squirt in some WD-40 lubricant or equivalent.