Welcome to the forum mate!
banging from the suspension is common for the rear axle mount to body bushes to wear out. Should be pretty easy to check with a lever.
Clean the steering rod and fit a new gator. If the seal had failed, all the power steering fluid would have probably pissed out.
what kind of roughness? like a notch every half turn?
banging from the suspension is common for the rear axle mount to body bushes to wear out. Should be pretty easy to check with a lever.
Clean the steering rod and fit a new gator. If the seal had failed, all the power steering fluid would have probably pissed out.

what kind of roughness? like a notch every half turn?
A moments silence please, for our brothers in the NAD-zone.