Power steering fluid change

Are you guys changing the power steering fluids in your trucks? My reservoir shows low but there is no leaks. I wonder I i should top it off or if I should change it. The truck has 50K miles and is driven in fwy most of the time.

 

Might want to see if a mod can move this to the 2nd gen section and not marketplace.

 

Wow hid did this happen???? Sorry Mods, please move to the 2nd Gen or Tech forum.

Thanks

 

really easy to do just disconnect the return hose that goes to the reservoir and stick it in a 2 liter bottle.. there is enough room to stick it inside the engine bay...

Have somsone else start the engine and keep adding fluid till it comes out clean.

like a 10 minute thing... just don't let the reservioir run dry.

I changed mine at 50k

The return hose is the hose mounted higher in the reservoir.

 

What fluid did you use?

 

Hiw come the PS fluid is not recommended in the owners manual? At least I haven't seen that in the intervals.

 

You won't see power steering information in the maintenance interval. I've never seen it..... At only 50K miles, you should be fine for a long time.

The 96 I owned...my husband and I did a flush at 85K miles. The fluid they use is ATF. It's red in color and transparent. I used Mobile 1 ATF. My 96 fluid was brown...and didn't look right. So...if your fluid is brownish, cloudy, and doesn't look like red ATF, you might consider having it flushed. You can do that at home rather easily.

If your fluid looks good.... you can top it off. Just make sure you have the proper fluid.

 

Do Not start the engine to flush the fluid! One misstep, and you can damage your pump. Jack the wheels up off the ground, and just turning the wheel from stop to stop will flush the fluid. Of course making sure the reservoir stays full so you don't get air in the system. And Dex 3 should be printed on the cap, if not, it's in the owners manual.

 

ATF.. has to be the kind with dextron 3 I believe. Been a couple years since I did it but it's in the manual.

As long as you have someone coherent sitting in the drivers seat with their hand on the key your fine... the pump sucks out of the reservoir but not fast enough that you can't keep it full. Just leave the res cap off and have a bottle opened and constantly pour into it. This can be done safely with 2 people but I wouldn't do it alone running back and forth to shut off the engine....

 

The only time changing the fluid is required is if it has been contaminated or if you have a foaming problem from working the pump too fast.

In my auto-x life of yore, my car would foam and overflow the reservoir sometimes. Changing to Valvoline synthetic PS fluid fixed that in that car, no other work required.

If you want to make it better by refreshing the fluids additive package, you can do a partial drain fill. Simply remove the fluid from the reservoir with a turkey baster or a syringe from your local large animal vet, then top up with new fluid of the proper and compatible type. No running, no disassembly, no risk.

If you want even more, you can drive it for a week (the residual in the rack and the new will mix) and do it again. Any 'old' will be virtually gone by then.

There is no service interval or recommended replacement. The fluid just doesn't wear out in this application.

However, if you have fluid missing, you have a problem. I know you said it doesn't have leaks. Well, it doesn't evaporate either. So keep an eye on the level and keep looking for the location of the loss.

 

Really easy to do. No need to start anything. Jack it up, turn the wheels and in between turns, fill the reservoir with new fluid until the fluid comes out clean.

 

To elaborate further.... The pump isn't doing anything until you turn the wheel .... even if the truck is running.

As long as you keep the reservoir full the entire time, turn the wheels slowly from lock to lock. I bought the cheapest ATF I could find to flush with and then used Mobile 1 ATF to flush out the cheap shit and final fill & burping.

 

To each his own... as long as all the dirty fluid comes out and clean goes in and nothing get F'd up in the process.

 

Do whatever you like, but what's served me for years is a simple rotation drain of the power steering reservoir.

Every time I change oil, I siphon and refill it.

 

Not sure, if its in the book but around 5 Years for brakes and ps.

 

Mine has been in there almost ten years. Probably time to change it.

 

I just changed my fluid this past weekend. I removed the skidplate and found a place where the return hose went into a hard line and disconnected it there. It's the lowest location in the system. Then I raised the front wheels and turned side to side to squeeze out more fluid. I pretty sure I got most of the old fluid out this way.
Put it back together, filled the res and started it up, turned the wheels some more while adding fluid. Done !
1 qt is plenty

 

^^^^^
Exactly the way to do a flush. Gets fluid running though not only the lines, but the entire rack as well.

 

I just ordered some Amsoil ATF with some extra to do the power steering flush as well... Then I got to looking around, and noticed Amsoil recommends this kind for power steering....
Will the extra fluid I ordered for the transmission flush work for power steering also, or should I order the other kind it recommends?
Thanks