Mixing Power Steering fluids

[jstutz]

my GM 93 1500 blew a high pressure hose today. The fluid that came out smelled like old ATF and was a brownish color. I know people have used ATF in these pumps and in some case it was called for. My book calls for PS fluid. Well i had qt of Valvoline regular PS fluid in the shed. I changed the hose and then cracked the high pressure side and flushed enough out to use the entire qt of fluid. It still looked brownish so i decided to run to the parts store to get another qt and it is 6 dollars a qt for valvoline, 4.50 for prestone and Valvoline Maxlife and about 4 for house brands. I decided it was clean enough for now because im curious about mixing brands as there appears to be no API like spec to look for. Also does anyone know what the typical system volume is? Im thinking running a qt thru it would get most of it. Any info is appreciated. Im wondering if i should have just bought a gallon of ATF and ran it through it. 5 dollars a qt for PS fluid seems a little steep. Im planning on flushing all three of my trucks. ALL GM so i may use ATF on my other two.

 

[HTSS_TR]

If your manual calls for PSF, I would stay with PSF. It is not bad even at $6/qt for Valvoline PSF, consider that you change PSF once very 5-6 years and each time you'll need 2 quarts. The cost per year is only about $2-3 or about 1 penny a day.

 

[beast3300]

I never ran ATF in any of my GM's. The oe stuff is brownish tan from the factory. Syn blend Valvoline ps fluid has worked well for me in my GM's.

 

[jstutz]

It really is not that the cost is too high but is it worth it. Is the 4 dollar house brand the same thing. I dont see any specs listed on the back of the prestone bottle.

 

[jstutz]

Originally Posted By: beast3300
I never ran ATF in any of my GM's. The oe stuff is brownish tan from the factory. Syn blend Valvoline ps fluid has worked well for me in my GM's.


I didnt see any syn blend valvoline. Just maxlife and regular in the white bottle. Maybe the maxlife is semi synthetic.

 

[beast3300]

Originally Posted By: jstutz
Originally Posted By: beast3300
I never ran ATF in any of my GM's. The oe stuff is brownish tan from the factory. Syn blend Valvoline ps fluid has worked well for me in my GM's.


I didnt see any syn blend valvoline. Just maxlife and regular in the white bottle. Maybe the maxlife is semi synthetic.


Good question.....we have synpower or whatever they call it at work still.

edit: after searching for it, it appears to be disco'ed.

http://www.valvoline.com/faqs/system-fluids/synpower-chemicals/

White bottle should suffice.

 

[Noey]

It's all the same. As long as the owner's manual spec's P/S fluid, you can safely mix them, the composition is the same.

P/S fluid is pretty simple chemically, as are the demands on it on the system, which is why there's never a service recommendation for it (although I agree that it should be changed periodically), and certainly if you have to do some work on the pump or hoses themselves.

Save some money here...use what's cheapest.

 

[seemore]

Thought I would add some to what has been said so far. Since I don't always say a lot about my personal thoughts about something with out first checking out the facts, I found this a while back concerning P S fluids and found it very interesting , http://cardone.com/english/club/Products/STEERING/Protech/Tech_Bulletins/PT 20-0027.pdf

 

[seemore]

Also here are some of the fluids they recommended.
http://www.cardone.com/English/Club/Products/STEERING/Protech/Articles/Steering_Fluids.asp

 

[Kaie]

I always stay with dealer specific PSF. ALWAYS. Thats just my rule of thumb.. Well actually i usually stay with dealer specific all fluids but Ive never strayed on PSF.

 

[mechtech2]

I'd use anybody's ATF in that '93.

 

[onion]

Yeah, I wouldn't lose any sleep over this. Fill it up with pretty much any power steering fluid or ATF, and it'll work fine.

Personally, I've been using synthetic ATF in my GM cars for years. I know it doesn't meet the spec, but I'm not convinced that that matters. And the power steering is much quieter and less sluggish on cold mornings.

Matter of fact, my old F150 has had Case hydraulic oil in the power steering pump for well over a decade. Canola oil probably would've worked just as well.

 

[jstutz]

Thanks guys. Looks like im fine.