Take off the belt and drive it.  And yes, you can turn your wheels when you're stopped.  The steering column can take "all that force" - just remember that other models came without PS, although reduction was just a little easier.  I drove my '85 Weekender without PS for years.

My '84 had a new rack installed which dripped a little, but I discovered it was just a loose steering line at the rack.

Chris.

Richard Golen <rgolen@UMASSD.EDU> wrote: "If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all....."

Last night at this time I was dealing with the oil buzzer/flashing
light problem which was successfully resolved this morning. A little
while ago, I was driving the van and the power steering pump sounded
"strange". When I got home, I noticed the pump reservoir was low, so
I put some more P/S fluid in...in a few moments, the level was low
again. I crawled under the front end and saw fluid dripping from the
steering rack....

It never ends!!

Looks like this issue will put a damper on the road trip.....I don't
think I can get this fixed before leaving on Saturday morning...looks
like I'll have to get the New Beetle prepped for a shorter trip.

Any suggestions?

Ric

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