The presence (or absence) of publications will not guarantee a pass (or fail) during your viva. One of the criteria of passing your PhD is that you have furthered your field of research and that your work is publishable. This does not mean that it has to be published but any publications that you do have will help to confirm that your peers believe the work to be of a high enough quality to further the research field.
Dr Linzi E. Amers-Dodd 