My powering steering pump "was" fried and spewing forth fluid. Had it replaced this past afternoon (ouch). One of the mechanics at the dealership said that if someone was towing with my truck (ahem, the b*stard who stole it/who was in possession of it), which he was, and turned really hard repeatedly to the turn stops, this could push the power steering pump over the edge. The guy who stole my truck was called in to the police for parking 5 sea doos or skidoos (can't recally exactly what he said over the phone as to which) that were on a trailer in a neighbourhood as suspicious by the people who lived there. An officer arrived, assessed the scene, noticed my truck appeared to be stolen (punched in door lock, punched in ignition, big mess) and proceeded to arrest the driver, where he then fled on foot and they eventually caught him (he's still in jail to this day supposedly - going on about 5 weeks or so - while he goes to trial). Thoughts?

 

Having the steering in full lock for extended periods with the engine running is a bad practice. The pump tries to pump against an immovable object, which is what the steering stop amounts to.