In my much poorer and less technically savvy days...

I once drove a 78 Mercury Zephyr (aka Ford Fairmont) in that
condition...I had a bad leak and eventually the power steering accessory
locked up completely shredding the belt off during driving...

I drove it for the better part of a year or more without "lubricant". I
think I may have dumped more power steering fluid in there thinking it
might get into the rack...some probably did, but I don't know how that
would/would not work on such a long run on the vanagon....

I developed quite a muscle in my arm from driving that
way...........................unpowered power steering really stinks!!!

Dave

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Michael Rule
Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 8:57 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: driving an unbelted, leaking power-steering rack

Hi,
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.
Mike
84-take-my-van-please-Westy

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