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1979 240D- 316K miles - VGT Turbo, Intercooler, Stick Shift, Many Other Mods - Daily Driver

1982 300SD - 232K miles - Wife's Daily Driver

1986 560SL - Wife's red speed machine

I have a 1986 Toyata Landcruiser that had the power steering pump go out after the first 6 mo. I had it. I drove it for the next 45,000 mi. without. Also had a 1985 toyata pickup that never had it. Tires make a big diference. Narrow ones work better than wide ones and newer tires(with unhardened rubbver) work better than old. I always looked at it as an opportunity for some upper body exercise. Only real problem I had was when parking in a tight spot and backing up with a trailer attached to the Landcruiser.

Just make sure the car your wife drives has the power steering opperational. Allimony can be very expensive!

Sedecrem

You need oil in the box. Even manual steering boxes have gear oil in them.

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RRGrassi


70's Southern Pacific #5608 Fairmont A-4 MOW car

13 VW JSW 2.0 TDI 193K, Tuned with DPF and EGR Delete.

91 W124 300D Turbo replaced, Pressure W/G actuator installed. 210K

90 Dodge D250 5.9 Cummins/5 speed. 400K

Neither of my 220d's have power steering (the Vanagon doesn't either). It's not really much of an issue... the only problem is turning the wheel when not moving or moving slowly (kind of a pain when parallel parking). I don't feel that its a safety issue at all as it is only difficult at very slow speeds.

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1985 MBZ 300DT
1969 MBZ 220d
1984 MBZ 300TDT
1981 VW Vanagon

I once had to drive a 72 Caddy sedan without power steering. That was in interesting experience. Not too bad when moving but impossible to park or maneuver into a driveway. I had to have two friends stand lookout in both directions on the street because I couldnt swing wide like I had to, observe where I was pointing the thing and lookout for traffic simultaneously. I have also driven a 240D without PS once round the block. Frankly it wasn't much better than the Caddy even with the larger wheel for leverage assistance.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

If we're talking about driving without P/S temporarily(like if the belt broke a few miles from home), then fine. I wouldn't tow my car if I could drive it. But to say that driving on a regular basis without P/S doesn't compromise safety is absolutely ridiculous.

Driving with manual steering gear is nothing at all like driving with non-functional power steering.

Cars designed to be driven without PS are easier to steer than cars with non-working PS.

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Muleears
'07 E320 Bluetec 133K my DD
'04 Jaguar XJ8 VDP, 34K
'10 Hyundai Accent 60K Grocery Getter
'02 VW Golf soon to be on the road again
'97 E300 Diesel Son's DD
'61 VERY tolerant wife

Hampton Roads, VA USA

Gone but not forgotten:
'67 250S 95K
'86 300SDL
'87 300D Turbo, 364K! R.I.P.
'98 E300 Turbodiesel, 213K
'02 S420, 164K
'01 Prius 138K

True, no hydraulic pressure to work against.

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

It's not fighting hydraulic pressure that can make inoperative power steering much harder than manual steering, but the differences in steering ratios of the steering boxes. Typically, power steering is geared much quicker - fewer turns lock to lock, which requires a huge effort on most cars if the assist fails. Manual steering is geared slower - more turns - to make it tolerable without power assist.
Also, manually-steered vehicles may have different alignment specs to make steering easier.
And in the days when manual-steering was the norm, most cars had skinny bias-ply tires. It's much harder to steer today's fat low-profile radials without power assist.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW

BGKAST ++ hahahah

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http://superturbodiesel.com/images/sig.04.10.jpg
1995 E420 Schwarz
1995 E300 Weiss
#1987 300D Sturmmachine
#1991 300D Nearly Perfect
#1994 E320 Cabriolet
#1995 E320 Touring
#1985 300D Sedan
OBK #42

I beg to differ.

I've driven cars with fairly wide radial tires and 3 turn lock-to-lock manual steering, and while parking is a bit difficult, it's not extremely hard with even a 13" steering wheel.

Any time I've tried to move a non-functioning power steering system while stopped, it was extremely difficult to turn the steering wheel, regardless of the size.

Something else is going on. It's the fluid. You're trying to push it through the pump when you turn the wheel.

Matt L,
Compared to the same model with power assist, the car in your example probably has different alignment settings or steering geometry designed to make the steering effort tolerable without power assist. Also, the power-assist version may only require 2 or 2.5 turns lock to lock.

Power steering is designed so that the steering will still function if the assist fails. There is only a slight added drag from the fluid and servo piston in a non-functioning power-assist system.
If you jack up and support the front end of any power-steering equipped car, with the engine off, you will see that the added effort required to turn the steering wheel is minimal, compared with the effort required when the car is on the ground.

Happy Motoring, Mark

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DrDKW