I'd drive a couple more 740s to see how they feel.

We have a '88 745 GLE and a "90 744 Turbo - the '90 has steering that is perhaps 20% heavier than the '88. It does not bother any of our 4 drivers. The effort may be related to the car's wide tires.

With our 850s, the '96 has noticably lighter steering than the two '95s.

If you find that your car is within normal Volvo effort, get a nice leather steering wheel cover. The extra size and grip will make the steering feel better.
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3 8s & 2 7s 740,000 miles total

It is impossible to define steering ease over the internet. I have never known power steering effort to increase with age unless the belt was slipping and in that situation you will hear a lot of noise. Don't know what "tired rack" means, stiff U joints will typically create a bump in the feel as it passes the stiff point every 1/4 turn of the wheel, doubt that flushing, fluid changes etc will change much.

Other than diagnosis by some Volovo special high priced sophisticated (and probably non existant) steering wheel torque measurement tool I think you have to drive another car of same model to determine if yours has the normal feel. The Volvo power steering cannot be compared to the the feel of some giant Yank Tanks with 1 finger steering. In these Yank Tanks the driver loses feel of the road.
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David Hunter

I have a 91 744 and had the same "problem". I think power steering is a misnomer. Power assisted would be more correct. I had a BMW while living in Italy. Same situation. I have not driven any brick newer than my 91 so I can not speak to whether Volvo has made the steering any more like Americans are used to.

Agree with other posters that a good flush couldn't hurt.

Just my $0.02.
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D.P. Mulvey in Central VA.

I Don't know about the 700's but I have 2 245's and while they are quite manageable for me or the wife, they do steer quite a bit harder than other cars I've owned. for example my 88 fleetwood, even though I'm guessing is a lot heavier...idleing at a stop can easily be turned with one finger, not so with the 240's. I know on big truck's there is a rating, such as xx% power assist, I don't know what determines this or if it applys to cars. I wonder if a bigger pully would have any affect?
Bret
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rust free in west Texas

Some of it depends on the rack, since the cam and ZF racks have slightly different characteristics.

Most 700/900 cars that I've driven, have power steering that is moderately assisted, but nowhere near fingertip steering. A lot of 240s, however, seem to have lighter steering. Some of it also depends on the PS pump, I suspect. The later 240s are a little lighter than earlier models from what I've seen.

These are just anecdotal observations. The pump could be lower on pressure after 300k. Give it a fluid change. But don't worry if it's a little harder, as long as it's still tight and isn't binding or losing fluid all over the place.
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chris herbst, near chicago

With 300K on it, changing the power steering fluid might be a good first step in finding an improvement. a synthetic ATF would be an excellent choice.
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Paul '89 740 Turbo 102,000

the power steering in our volvos has always been stiff compared to other vehicles i have driven. with the car off, man, don't even get me started on how much of a macho man (or woman) you have to be to turn it.
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Kenric Tam
1990 Volvo 740 base sedan (B230F)
My Volvo 'Project'