Heavy steering with recond rack

[czechone]

This follows on from a prior topic where my power steering fluid was leaking. AU3 XR8.

So took it to my mechanic, he discovered that the steering rack was leaking. This was replaced with a reconditioned rack and a wheel alignment was done.

He mentioned that the steering pump doesn't seem to be 100% ie. slightly noisy but he said it shouldn't be a problem and we agreed to leave it for now but change it later if need be (so i wasn't coughing up mega$$$ in one hit).

The problem now is that my steering feels noticeably heavier/less free/tighter than it was before.

Couple questions :

1) Should i expect this heavier movement from a "new" (ie. recond) rack as perhaps it needs some time to loosen up or wear in (for lack of a better way to describe it) ? Or should my steering be as free and light as it ever was ? Could the rack itself be suspect ?

2) Would a less than perfect pump cause the steering to be heavy as perhaps it's not pumping the fluid through with enough pressure ? Am i better off to just replace the pump as well and then worry again ? Or if the pump works, it just "works" and there's no question of it working less effectively than it should ?

I hate when things are changed on the car and they aren't as they were before !

Thanks in advance for any ideas.