Power Steering Probs

[verypoor]

So when it comes to cars, I'm quite lost especially when something goes wrong with it. I've got a 99 ford Taurus with around 50k miles on it. Well a couple days ago I started hearing this humming noise, and didn't quite know what it was, until today when I started up my car and tried turning, It felt like a great struggle, thus my conclusion that its the power steering.
I checked the power steering fluid, and its normal, not full, nor empty

1) Well my question is this: knowing that its probably the inside of my car that’s causing the steering problem, about how much will this cost me?

2) It doesn’t take a wise man to know, that with this prob. I need to fix it soon; but I'm a college student thus, (very poor) If I continue to drive with the power steering problem, will I lose complete steering capability, if so aprox how long until this happens.

[911GT2]

You don't *have* to fix it. There are plenty of cars with no power steering. Takes more effort at low speeds, but at highway speeds it's unnoticable.

And there's no way to tell, the location of power steering pumps in various cars can result in very different labour costs. Just get a free estimate.

[ales]

I'd say bite the bullet and get it fixed. Cars that came without PS from the factory require significantly less effort to turn the wheels than the ones that came with PS but it isn't working. You'll die trying to park the thing or driving slowly on twisty roads. On the other hand, if you need a workout for your arms ... But it just seems too dangerous in situations where you need quick reactions. Just my thoughts on the subject.