>After an archive search, I've found differing opinions on whether it is >safe to continue to drive with my badly leaking power-steering rack after >removing the belt. Even without the belt on, a lot of fluid is still >leaking out, so I am guessing it will continue to drain until near >dry. Has anyone experienced hazards from driving with a "dry" >power-steering rack? Thank you for any thoughts.
When I blew a gasket seal on my '67 Dodge Dart's power steering, I just disconnected the pump belt until I could get around to replacing it. I drove it with no power steering for almost a year (lazy bum!) before I fixed it. Since I didn't run the pump with no fluid in it, the pump was still OK and I just added new fluid and replaced the belt. The steering wheel on a '67 Dart is huge, however, so driving w/ no power was no big deal. It's probably tougher with the smaller Vanagon steering wheel, though, so that might be an issue. I guess there might be a "slip hazard" from the leaking fluid, but once it's gone I can't think of anything dangerous about it. The power system just hydraulicly "assists" steering so when it dies, you just get "regular" steering instead. Power steering is a pure luxury item, design-wise, so the only thing that suffers when it craps out is the drivers arm muscles. John Bange '90 Vanagon "Geldsauger" |
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