ive had this problem from a while back and my reseivoir is bone dry. all the fliuds leaked out from the the steering rack from where the boot is or was, i can tell because my boots been torn for a while. My girlfriends uncle said to just replace the rack for $100, hes a mechanic, but i was wondering, since i ran the power steering bone dry this long and not take it off the belt since i wasent using it, will the motor/compresor or whatever, go bad??? will it have to be replaced as well???

 

why didnt you atleast keep adding more fluid every now and then?and how long has it been dry?
if your sure its been leaking from the rack then the seals are obviously gone in which case your best bet would be to simply replace it.

try pulling the belt off and spin the pump pulley while listening for noises.if you dont hear anything and it hasnt been making alot of noise then it may be ok.