[Cat Fuzz]

Here's what I would do:

Jack up the front and test the steering. With no weight, it should steer easily. If its still stiff, I would take loose a tie rod end and see if it gets easier to turn, if not, take the other end loose and test again. If its still hard to turn, you have a bad rack and pinion if it's really easy to turn, you probably have bad ball joints, or bad strut bearing plates. It's a process of elimination. The tie rod ends are the easiest to check. Seems like something has worn out and is tightening up.