stiff steering
 

need some thoughts here.
the steering has become stiff to the point where I've started to develop biceps triceps and u name it.
all was well before I had the car aligned. alignment is not an issue since i've beaten that to death by wasting money at three different places to get it done and got printouts. in specs everytime. and yes one of these three places is the benz dealer.
I'm wondering if the first time during the alignment, the tech at sears (where i got it done first time, bad choice) might have tampered with the steering gear box tightening it up which has resulted in a hard to steer wheel. It's not different at high or low speeds. same stiffness unique at all speeds.
I checked the power steering oil level and is fine and not dirty either.
no noice etc pointing to a perhaps failing power steering pump.
any thoughts what could cause this right after alignment ?

oops forgot to add this.
it's the 87 260E having this problem.

this morning i noticed that the steering is not giving a smooth feedback while turning. there are pockets of easy/hard steer feel while turning. it's as if there's hesitation in half a turn and the rest of the half would turn smoothly.
are these signs of a bad power steering pump ?
any steps to perform in order to check the integrity of the pump ?

Is the car set back to the initial alignment settings BEFORE you had this problem???

Have you rotated the tires around to see if it CHANGES the issues you are having?

Since any competent alignment should be expected to at least include a driving test, I am surprised you have had no feedback from these shops. It should be easy for a profesional to diagnose your problem by the steering feel.

Steve

What you describe as "pockets" of easy steer/hard steer
 

makes me worry that the steering box preload was indeed overtightened or set without getting the box perfectly centered in its turning range, since it's only right on center that it's supposed to be slack free. On the other hand, I only know models one generation older than yours first hand.

just came back from the dealer.
they checked the power steering fluid and funtion said everything is fine.
they checked the alignment and said it is under specs.
as far as they're concerned nothing wrong.
so much for that. i guess i need to go to the trusted independent mech now.
and no everything was perfect before the first alignment a month ago was performed by sears.
I'm not sure but maybe the tech at sears overtighened something. could the steering gear box be over tightened to cause a stiff steering ?
what r the symptoms of an over tighteened gear box ?

Its seems unlikely that Sears would have adjusted the steering box. There should be at least 10 mm of play in the steering box. That means you can turn the wheel back and forth about 10 mm before anything happens at the wheels. True professionals would jack up the front wheels and do this off the ground as its very hard on the ball joints to turn the wheel without the car moving.

Regards,

allright so that takes the steering box out of the picture since I dont have any issues with the play. it's the same as before and it's fine.
I've made another appointment with a different dealer. they've done work on the car before and are pretty competent.
let's see what it turns out to be. I'll keep you guys posted.
thanks again everyone for the input . it is greatly appreciated.
This forum doesn't just help find the answers to the problems but has served a great deal in terms of venting out the frustrations as well. given everyone else understands what the frustration is about it helps :D