Changing Power Steering Fluid.

[WillBrinkhoff]

How important is it to change your power steering fluid? And how would one go about changing it?
I'm curious about this because my fluid is very dark and grimy, and I'm worried about it eating my pump and seals up.

 

[wpod]

Clean unoxidized oil is happy oil.

 

[Oillover]

Clean unoxidized oil is happy oil.

...and happy oil makes for happy hydraulic system components.

 

[DriveHard]

Use a turkey baster...
Suck all the fluid out that you can, fill with new fluid, start car and cycle steering lock to lock a few times...repeat this step until the fluid is as clean as you like.

 

[ripcord]

What kind of rig is it? You can always do partial changes by suctioning out the reservoir and replacing with clean if it's a big pain to do a full drain and fill.

 

[Kira]

You'd think a power steering system is a natural for a "pump out".

 

[tnt_motorsports]

do you have a Mityvac or something similar? I've used mine for that, or a hand siphon pump works as well. I just do the reservoir and drive for a few weeks, rinse and repeat until the oil comes out the same color as the oil added.

Just my $0.02

 

[ripcord]

You'd think a power steering system is a natural for a "pump out".

The problem is the reservoir is so small and you don't want to run it dry and cause damage. I guess you could remove the belt and manually turn the pump. I've done that when I was changing a gear box and needed to flush out the system. I had to block the return hose port on the pump with my finger while I turn and refilled the pump with the other.

 

[wpod]

You'd think a power steering system is a natural for a "pump out".

It is.

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

do you have a Mityvac or something similar? I've used mine for that, or a hand siphon pump works as well. I just do the reservoir and drive for a few weeks, rinse and repeat until the oil comes out the same color as the oil added.

Just my $0.02

That is exactly how I did the last one and it worked great. Takes time and few sessions but cleaned out well.

 

[fantastic]

Funny this pops up but I suppose it's that time of year to get out & do some maintenance. I'm pretty sure i'm just going to do it the easy way of removing it from the reservoir, via a hand pump, then fill with new fluid. Rip around for a month then repeat. I know my system doesn't have a big capacity.

This is what I'll use. Claims to be 100,000 mile service life.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/seort/619724714

Here's some 50,000 mile life
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Prestone...19724714&athposb=-11&athena=true&athbdg=L1600

This is cheap for 32 oz
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Super-Te...26102232&athposb=-12&athena=true&athbdg=L1102

Power steering fluid is used as a hydraulic fluid & while it can last a long time there are eventual contaminates that will need to be purged with the fluid. Especially moisture etc. Mine is very dark so I know it's oxidized & contaminated.

 

[berniedd]

Disconnecting the PS return hose and refilling with fresh fluid while running the engine is probably the best, but I'm averse to disturbing the system. On all my vehicles, I just use the turkey baster method. Suck out as much fluid as I can, refill with equal amount. I do it 3x in a month, then call it good. Repeat after 4 years. After the first routine, I drop a strong neodymium magnet harvested from my old computer hard drives, into the PS fluid reservoir. The idea is to catch ferrous particles in the system. But after years of doing this, I never saw any dirt or mud on the magnet.

 

[DriveHard]

The problem is the reservoir is so small and you don't want to run it dry and cause damage. I guess you could remove the belt and manually turn the pump. I've done that when I was changing a gear box and needed to flush out the system. I had to block the return hose port on the pump with my finger while I turn and refilled the pump with the other.

If the PS pump is a normal gear pump, you won't do any damage at all running it dry for brief periods of time. Most folks think you will cavitate the pump, that is NOT the case. Cavitation is very different than running a pump with a dry inlet. In my previous life I actually did experiments with running gear pumps dry when not in use to save energy - it works Now, if it is a piston pump, that can be a different story...you may not be able to run that dry. The cost difference tells me it is most likely just a gear pump though...but I can't say I have ever torn one apart to know for sure.

 

[SHOZ]

If it' really carboned up the whole system needs a slow clean. Best to suck out the reservoir and use some cheap fluid. Keep doing that, testing by putting a drop on a white napkin to see how much grit is left in it. Probably take a week of daily, then finish the month with weekly changes.

 

[nate379]

If the PS pump is a normal gear pump, you won't do any damage at all running it dry for brief periods of time. Most folks think you will cavitate the pump, that is NOT the case. Cavitation is very different than running a pump with a dry inlet. In my previous life I actually did experiments with running gear pumps dry when not in use to save energy - it works Now, if it is a piston pump, that can be a different story...you may not be able to run that dry. The cost difference tells me it is most likely just a gear pump though...but I can't say I have ever torn one apart to know for sure.

Most are vane

 

[Mgeorge]

Maxx Life is my PS fluid of choice. It seems to go a long time without getting dark and has a seal conditioner to stop or prevent leaks.
I like to suck out the reservoir every oil change.
I sold my last car with 313,000 miles still on the original pump and rack.