is there any mechanical harm in not using the pump? just taking off the the belt or something
i know itll be hard as hell to turn without it, im just wondering if it will screw up the steering gear or the pump or something.
and if there is no harm in it, if i wanted to, could i just remove the pump and plug the holes in the steering box?

just curious. thanks.

nope, shouldn't hurt it.

You really don't want to just plug the gear ports. Plugging the ports will cause the gear to pressurize one port and draw a vacuum on the other when you are steering. This will cause even heavier steering effort.

You want to make a cheap crossover between the two ports. This will allow residual oil and air to pass back and forth from one side of the gear to the other when your are turning.

The same is true of the power steering pump. You never want to have it spinning without oil in the pump. Again, either remove the belt or remove the pump entirely is the best alternative. Otherwise, make a cheap crossover from the discharge port over to the return tube on the reservoir and let the pump recirculate oil.

excellent.
thanks fellas.