Power Steering Conversion... but rack has leak?

[TheBlueSeaHorse]

Hello everyone! I am hoping someone with some car smarts has a little knowledge to share...

I have a 98 Acura 3.0 CL. The power steering pump seized a few weeks ago, so I went to pick-a-part and replaced the pump, flushed the system, and all seemed good to go for a few days...
Then I noticed a large leak, so I kept topping up the PS fluid until I had a chance get under the car and look at it, and I believe it to be coming from the steering rack on the passenger side... from what I have read, this ain't good! I looked into rack prices and it just isn't worth it on a car with over 300k. Tried a bottle of lucas PS fix to no avail.

I looked into converting it to manual steering with a DIY fix by just looping the system (I know there is a lot of controversy on this already...), but I am not sure if the leak in the rack will complicate matters, or not matter at all!

I thought of just taking off the PS belt and plugging the ends and seeing how long that would last, but I am just not totally sure if the rack will seize or not. The leak doesn't seem big enough to totally drain the system because there is still a little bit of fluid left in the reservoir after a few days sitting.

If anyone with some experience in this could offer some advice, that would be great! Thanks everyone!