I had an odd lumpy dead spot in the middle/straight ahead position as well as a small oil leak. When swapping the box, I did find the bolt that holds the arm on the bottom of the steering box had somehow gotten loose, which probably caused some of the weird steering wheel travel. Since I already had a replacement and there was a leak anyway, I continued the box change.


Steering is significantly better; not a sports car, but solidly OK for an SUV. Its now smooth lock to lock.


I had changed the pump a few weeks before this (it also leaked and was whining), so by the time I was done, I had renewed the bulk of the system by this time too.
I flushed out the oil and reservoir screen to be sure I didn't have any blockages and its finally not leaking and steers pretty good.

 

Good to know... I'm still not 100% convinced it's just the box so will likely end up doing the pump too. There's a good AB video for the pump replacement - looks pretty easy