HI I have a quick question regarding the electronic power steering on my 2000 Nissan March car. 

The steering is stiff when turning right, i.e. very little or no power assist is being applied.  Turning left is fine.  If I turn the wheel hard left to the lock position, turning right becomes easy again.  There are no warning or fault lights showing up on the dash.

I have had two mechanics look at it and both have diagnosed the fault as being with the steering rack which will need to be replaced at considerable cost. However neither mechanic used diagnostic scanning equipment, they made the diagnosis by simply turning the wheel.

A hydraulic power steering specialist thought that it might be that the torque sensor probably just needs adjusting, again he didnt use any scanning equipment and he does not normally deal with electronic power steering. 

Since its expensive to get auto electrical or Nissan to test it with the proper diagnostic scanning equipment I thought I would ask someone here what is more likely to be the cause as I don't 100% believe that the steering rack needs to be changed. 

Changing the steering rack may resolve the issue because the parts are new but if an adjustment or calibration is all thats needed then this would be a much cheaper option. 

Also if they changed the steering rack wouldnt a calibration or the torque sensors still be required, if they do not have the scanning equipment then I dont see how this calibration can be carried out. 

So should I go ahead and change the rack or get an auto electrician to look at it first?  Are there some basic tests I can carry out myself to try to narrow down the cause of the fault?

Thanks in advance.