How much does it leak, really?  If you only have to top it off every
month or so, your best to leave it alone and just keep topping it off.
The rack itself is probably worn and even if you forget to top it and
the pump runs low, all that will happen is you will start feeling it in
the steering and that will remind you to put more oil in.  It won't
hurt the rack any more than it what's happening now.  And if the
rack does give out you will have plenty of warning - noises and
the like.  At that time there's a lot to be said for just replacing the
rack and pump and lines all at the same time.

Hell, you put a rebuilt pump on it now, and the rack might give
out a year from now - then you have to tear everything apart again
- in the same area.  Unless the leak is pouring out - leave it alone.

If the leak is due to rust on the bottom of the tank then do a
fix in-sutu.  Have the mechanic drain the pump with a syringe,
then clean the bottom off, and put JB Weld over the leak, let
it dry and refill the pump.  The repair will probably hold until
the van is junked.

With mine, the leak was through the front shaft seal - and if
I hadn't been replacing the transmission I wouldn't have touched
it.

Probably not - but it is -very- common for these engines to go
200K miles without even noticing.  The transmission is the weak point,
but even the stock tranny on that year can do 100K if it's not pushed, and
a rebuilt one will go at least that, probably longer.  And there's still
some people out there who have reported 200K on the stock
tranny.

Look at it this way.  With a 10 year old van, the value is almost fully
depreciated - in other words, while the value will continue to drop the
older it gets
and the more mileage it has on it, we are talking no more than $500 to
$1000 a year, if even that - and at 15 years, it will stop depreciating
completely.  If you wanted to get some of the undepreciated value out of
it, you have waited too long.  Financially, your best bet is to just drive
it until the proverbial wheels drop off.

I have seen these vans go for $600 on the used market - NON running -
if they are clean, no dents, and look good.  Run the Kelly Blue Book
on it now and look at what it is.  Subtract $600 - what you have left
is the amount of money you can stand to lose between now and when
it stops running.  And I will bet that this amount is -way lower- than
car payments for the next 5-10 years or so of life that you most likely
have on it.  Sure, your gambling to hang on to it - but it's a gamble that
is stacked in your favor.

The worst gambles in the used car market are the cars that have just
come out from under warranty - for example 60K miles or 40K miles -
since they still have significant undepreciated value that the buyer has
to pay for - yet there's no guarentee they won't blow up a day after the
buyer takes delivery.  Your probably past that stage in your van - so
at this point just keep changing the oil and run it into the ground.

Ted