As far as "how bad" it's damaged, I'm not sure. It leaks the power steering fluid in about two weeks though, not five minutes. This is not even consistent, because sometimes I'll notice a small puddle of fluid, and sometimes it won't even leak at all. I top it off once a week anyway.
The alignment itself is fine; I can go fairly straight if I'm driving on a nice even road (not completely straight because the current tires do have uneven wear). However, when I brake on a titled road it moves more to the side than normal, and the car loses more direction than normal when hitting a bump - that's how I know the rack and pinion is bad.
Given what you've said though, I think I'll just swap the tires before my trip and just drive like that for a week. Thanks again.
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-1987 5 spd N/A with TEMS: low miles! All stock with the exception of electric fans and an '89 front bumper, Yokohama 225/50/16 with stock rims. It's a mess and in the garage.
-1987 5 spd Turbo with TEMS: miss-matched tires, needs lots of work, but it runs! Project car.
-1988 N/A auto targa: all stock except 18" rims with Falken 265/35/18 in rear and 225/35/18 in front; daily driver.
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