The genius I bought my hatch from (2000 civic hatch DX) did the ghetto power steering removal by simply cutting off the metal lines to the rack.

I don't know how long her ran it like that for, but after getting the car I decided to try out a manual rack (always wanted to try it out) so I pulled the PS rack out completely. Now I decided that I don't really like the manual rack feel and wanted to put the power steering rack back into the car.

My question is whether there is any way to find out if the PS rack I have has been damaged by having the lines cut off, and if there is any way to test it.

Any ideas?

TIA

 

If it was driving fine with the old rack, and didn't bind up at all....
Since it's off the car, grab the rack with one hand and slide one end in and out. If you feel any binding other than the normal gear feel, or if it's squeaking or scraping, I'd ditch it. Otherwise, throw it in and give it a shot.
It won't break and make you lose control. Just make sure it has the full range of motion without resistance.

 

So I drove with it in the car before I pulled it out, and it worked fine (aside from being difficult to turn, but the feel was somewhat similar to the manual rack I have in there right now - perhaps a bit harder). But, it wasn't binding or making any noises - just tough to turn the steering wheels. Hopefully it works - unless someone else has another way of testing it?