Date:         Mon, 23 Aug 2004 20:00:53 -0700
Reply-To:     jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Subject:      Re: driving an unbelted, leaking power-steering rack
In-Reply-To:  <20040824015706.84886.qmail@web11206.mail.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

>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"