Yes you can.

John Meeks

On Jan 18, 2010 12:42 PM, "Andrew Philbrick" <herrschildkrote@gmail.com>
wrote:

Hello Volks,

My '86 westy (original wbx) sprung a leak of power steering fluid last
night.  The leak is coming from the lines near the nose of the tranny.

My question is - Can I take the belt off of the PS pump and still drive the
van without risk of damage to the pump or the steering rack up front?  Can I
drive it short term with the pump off until parts arrive?  The only reason I
ask is because our Beetle being a bit under-the-weather as well and we are
essentially stuck without a car.

Ideally, I do not want to damage the Vanagon at all but I also need a mode
of transport in the next few days.

Andrew