My 93 v6 camry has had a power steering leak for some time now. I keep fluid in it and I haven't really worried about it until I had an oil change recently and the mechanic said that I need to get the power steering pump and rack replaced. He has quoted me $450 for the maintenence. Yikes! Unfortunately, I don't have that kind of money at the moment. I asked him what I can do until I can afford the fix- he said simply to keep an eye on the fluid and come back as soon as possible.
As I said, I've been driving my car with this problem for some time now. My question is this: has any other system perhaps been damaged by this leak and the occasional low fluid? I've never had the power steering fail- the worst that's happened is a scrape-y sound when I turn the wheel. Am I putting other parts of the engine at risk in delaying any further?
Thanks for any help.