JasonA Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 In an effort to possibly reduce or eliminate the hard shuddering during high-effort cornering (parking lots, etc), I figured I'd go ahead and change out the power steering fluid. With a turkey baster (don't tell the wife ) I sucked out all the old fluid from the reservoir. Looked fine enough...golden brown to red colored. Just like transmission fluid. It was after I opened a new quart of PS fluid that I realized it was supposed to be almost clear! Doh! I guess that's what happens when your PS fluid is 140,000 miles old. Anyway, I filled it back up with some generic PS fluid I had on the shelf. The owner's manual specifies a particular GM part number, but I rarely purchase OE-branded lubricants. There IS only one type of PS fluid, right? No chance of putting the "wrong kind" of fluid in there? Thanks, Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimD Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 I can tell you the Goodwrench fluid (PN 89020661) is mineral oil with additives to prevent corrosion and foaming. Jim Drive your car. Use your cell phone. CHOOSE ONE ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Recently I added 1oz of power steering fluide (PYROIL by Valvoline) and noticed the fluide in the reservoire was red and fresh one was white ( looked like silicon too me). Is the change ogf color really means something? It is not hard to replace the fluide, just curious. I am pretty sure the fluide is original with 141.00 on it. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 The red could be from using transmission oil. I guess it works fine in power steering pumps also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Someone on this site purged the system (I think bigfoo maybe) by removing the return line and putting it into a container and starting the engine and keeping the resouvior full. I think its necessary to turn the wheel back and forth to get all the old fluid out. Do a search on this, I am planning to do it myself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 The red could be from using transmission oil. I guess it works fine in power steering pumps also. are you sure, Ed? The FSM says it is no-no. I still hope the fluide just changed the color over extended period of time and under the influence of heat. Nevertheless, I am going to change it by multiple replacements (sucking up in other words). I do not want to touch hoses at the moment. Someone on this site purged the system (I think bigfoo maybe) by removing the return line and putting it into a container and starting the engine and keeping the resouvior full. I think its necessary to turn the wheel back and forth to get all the old fluid out Thanks, Mike The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted November 17, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 Nevertheless, I am going to change it by multiple replacements (sucking up in other words). I do not want to touch hoses at the moment. That's what I'm doing. Like a transmission fluid change...only a LOT easier and cleaner. Tonight (the wife is driving the car some today) I'll suck some more out and replace it. Next day, same thing. Over the course of a few fluid "changes", I should have a good amount of fresh fluid in there. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 are you sure, Ed? The FSM says it is no-no. I still hope the fluide just changed the color over extended period of time and under the influence of heat. Nevertheless, I am going to change it by multiple replacements (sucking up in other words). I do not want to touch hoses at the moment. According to this article http://www.canadiandriver.com/articles/jk/040128.htm Dextron has been specified for some power steering systems. I don't use it in my Cadillac but used it in my Suburban with no ill effects. My diesel Suburban has 400k miles and the pump is more quiet than on my Cadillac with 200k miles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted November 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I was going to do the same to my Nissan truck. It has almost 189,000 miles, and I bet the fluid is original in that one as well. Before I syringed the old fluid out, I checked the FSM. Sure enough, it requires Dexron II or Dexron III ATF, not power steering fluid. Good thing I checked! Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wonder why the change took place from Dextron to outright Power Steering fluid in steering pumps? Does anyone know that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adallak Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 Looks like I added some PS fluid to Dexron I had better not to do anything. The saddest thing in life is wasted talent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wonder why the change took place from Dextron to outright Power Steering fluid in steering pumps? Does anyone know that? For the same reason for so many different soaps that do basically the same thing. There's a specific soap for cleaning your sink, shower, toilet, etc. You can no longer use one soap for everything like before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickster Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wonder why the change took place from Dextron to outright Power Steering fluid in steering pumps? Does anyone know that? Scotty. I was talking to a mechanic friend the other day about power steering fluid. I was topping mine up as well. He said something to the effect that power steering fluid can't be a flamable fluid or it should have a very high flash point. Makes sence. Safty and all. Rick 2001 STS Mettalic Otter Grey, Black Leather, 213,000 kilometers - miles - ? Still running strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JasonA Posted November 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wonder why the change took place from Dextron to outright Power Steering fluid in steering pumps? Does anyone know that? If you're suggesting that all pumps used ATF first, and now they're switching to PS fluid, I don't know. For all I know, they've always had dedicated PS fluid, and some used it and some didn't. Just like there are different flavors of ATF (Dexron, MERCON, ATF+3). Some automatic transmissions (some Hondas) actually use motor oil. My Nissan truck's transfer case actually uses ATF instead of gear lubricant -- although many use gear lube anyway. In addition, most transmissions and rear axles take GL-5 gear lube I think it is. GL-5 is ubiquitous. However, my truck's manual transmission takes GL-4 ONLY. If you use 5, you'll mess up the synchros. I'm sure it all has to do with different corrosion inhibitors and friction modifiers. Jason(2001 STS, White Diamond) "When you turn your car on...does it return the favor?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Hall Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wonder why the change took place from Dextron to outright Power Steering fluid in steering pumps? Does anyone know that? Scotty. I was talking to a mechanic friend the other day about power steering fluid. I was topping mine up as well. He said something to the effect that power steering fluid can't be a flamable fluid or it should have a very high flash point. Makes sence. Safty and all. Rick I had a very bad car fire several years ago from power steering fluid leaking on my exhaust manifold. It is very flamable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickster Posted November 18, 2004 Report Share Posted November 18, 2004 I wonder why the change took place from Dextron to outright Power Steering fluid in steering pumps? Does anyone know that? Scotty. I was talking to a mechanic friend the other day about power steering fluid. I was topping mine up as well. He said something to the effect that power steering fluid can't be a flamable fluid or it should have a very high flash point. Makes sence. Safty and all. Rick I had a very bad car fire several years ago from power steering fluid leaking on my exhaust manifold. It is very flamable. Hence the change to other fluids away from ATF maybe ? 2001 STS Mettalic Otter Grey, Black Leather, 213,000 kilometers - miles - ? Still running strong! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KenD Posted November 19, 2004 Report Share Posted November 19, 2004 Scotty, it was me with the PS flush. Very simple to do, but it's a two person job. Take the return hose off and turn the wheel while the pump drains the fluid from the reservoir into a bucket or jug. Make sure that you keep the res. topped up to the full line with new fluid when doing this and then stop turning the wheel when the fluid turns clear and reattach return hose. Bleed the system of air and you're good to go. I used off the shelf PartSource PS fluid. It had the same info on the back label as the Valvoline and the counter guy said the rep couldn't tell him what the difference was between the two. Hell, it was $2.00 a bottle cheaper. You'll need two bottles by the way. Ken 1994 STS Pearl White 260,000 KM (163,000 miles) <img src="http://img45.photobucket.com/albums/v137/caesar/caddycaesar.jpg" border="0" class="linked-sig-image" /> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RalPh Posted November 20, 2004 Report Share Posted November 20, 2004 Someone on this site purged the system (I think bigfoo maybe) by removing the return line and putting it into a container and starting the engine and keeping the resouvior full. I think its necessary to turn the wheel back and forth to get all the old fluid out. Do a search on this, I am planning to do it myself I posted this on the old forum. I did it right after flushing the trans fluid from the cooling lines and thought "why not?" Take the low pressure "return" line off the back of the PS reservoir and extend it with a piece of tubing and a couple feet of hose of a similar size (clear is fun) Get somebody to help you with this because it empties pretty fast even at idle. Put the tube into a container (old antifreeze or the like) and open a couple of big PS fluid cans. Start the engine and refill as the old fluid is pumped out. If you used a clear piece of tubing you watch the "black" old fluid becomming clear Makes you feel really good. And yes, everytime you turn the wheel back & forth the fluid goes black to clear again until it's all flushed out. I bet if you did this once a year (it's SO easy once you've done it) that you could use the cheapest WalMart Prestone fluid and you'd be better off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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