\'72 Stang Power Steering question

I've got a 351C with the factory original power steering pump. It's starting to get noisy and the old brake fluid trick just won't cut it. I don't think I need the power steering, as I'm not taking this car to the grocery store parking lot. However, can I just disconnect the belt to the pump and run it like that long term without hurting anything in the steering box, etc (other than my arms)? I should get a bit more HP too. Thanks

Gonna be really hard to steer & eventually be a real problem. Short term it'll work. I just put it back on my race car, rebuilt the pump myself with a cheap kit.
[addsig]

You should leave the power steering pump intact on a P/S box. The torsion rod that drives the internals is not designed for that much load.

If you want manual steering, get a m/s box. You'll also need to change your crank and water pump pullies to a single groove setup.

If you want to rebuild the pump, it's a piece of cake as qtrmiler stated. Kit's about $15 at any parts store.

Actually, it turned out to be a loose belt! All that noise and I assumed the worst.