can i do it myself?

gilbert_and_sullivan

Simple and cheap to do, look in handbook for oil specification, visit local motor factor or good accessory shop, Helfords if you must or even the dealers parts desk, buy smalley bottle of correct specification oil, top up to mark, job done.
£3 ish max i reckon.

The problem with letting it drop really low is that you can get air in the system and power assistance could become intermittent on sharp turns, not pleasant.

andygb

Gloomendoom wrote: »

It just becomes extremely heavy. The slower you are going, the heavier it will feel.

Yes, it kind of reminds you, how fit and strong you were in your youth, before the days of power steering, when you used to wrestle all kinds of old cars around bends, out of ditches, and even manage a bit of parrallel parking every now and then!
Those were the days

scottishperson2

adamc260 wrote: »

Surely if you have no power steering fluid you just lose power steering and it just becomes heavy... or am I wrong here? =/

Also can cause the car to stall on full lock.

LincolnshireYokel

Gloomendoom wrote: »

It just becomes extremely heavy. The slower you are going, the heavier it will feel.

But dont forget running with no fluid in will also flog the power steering pump to death in a pretty short time.

oldagetraveller

andygb wrote: »

Yes, it kind of reminds you, how fit and strong you were in your youth, before the days of power steering, when you used to wrestle all kinds of old cars around bends, out of ditches, and even manage a bit of parrallel parking every now and then!
Those were the days

Yes, but the steering was so designed to operate without power assistance. Lower geared - more turns full lock to full lock.
I have a Morris Minor in my garage and the steering is very light. Of course the dustbin lid sized steering wheel helps a lot too!:p

Joe_Horner

You also had proper tyres back then, not 3-foot wide rubber bands on cart-wheel sized alloys, the gearbox and diff tended not to be right over the steering axle, and there were no "sensitive skin" shaving products cos Men were Real Men not wannabe fussballers

Back OT, get the fluid, pour it in to the max level. Check the handbook for fluid and method - in the past some should be checked / topped up with the engine running, not sure about current ones.

A leak is an automatic MOT fail IF it's clearly a leak. A very slow weep somewhere that shows as a little dried fluid may well pass because it could be old spillage but any wetness should fail.

Don't worry about that for now though. Top it up, keep an eye on it, and see what happens at the next MOT - better to be topping up a slightly leaking system for a few months than to have the pump run dry. Obviously, if it starts dropping quickly then it needs looking at earlier.

s_b

oldagetraveller wrote: »

Yes, but the steering was so designed to operate without power assistance. Lower geared - more turns full lock to full lock.
I have a Morris Minor in my garage and the steering is very light. Of course the dustbin lid sized steering wheel helps a lot too!:p

and dont forget to grease your trunnions every other month:D