Power steering fluid in my Lexus

[82DMC12]

Hello Group,

my 94 ES300 manual says to use Dexron III in the power steering reservior. I bought the car used about 20K/1.5 years ago and have never had to add any fluid to the reservior, however the fluid that is in there is definitely NOT Dexron III, probably regular old power steering fluid. I have never had a problem with my power steering in sub-zero temps or other conditions, but my steering rack is seeping a tiny bit. the fluid on the dipstick in the reservoir looks pretty clean, not much contamination.

1. Should I change it to Dexron III?
2. If so, what brand? anything in particular?
3. How do I change it?
4. does regular power steering fluid damage a car that is supposed to have Dexron III in it, or vice versa?

Thanks for the input!
Andy

 

[Marlin]

I like valvoline's syn power steering fluid.

http://www.valvoline.com/pages/products/product_detail.asp?product=22

 

[Tones]

quote:

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Originally posted by 82DMC12:
Hello Group,
... however the fluid that is in there is definitely NOT Dexron III, probably regular old power steering fluid...

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How can you tell this? The power steering fluid in my Toyota from the factory was a light amber color, but that does not mean it wasn't Dexron III or something similar. Search previous posts on this topic. Ken2 (I think) has some information that it is ATF, without the red dye.

That said, I am using Mobil-1 ATF with good results. No issues with mixing the old with the new. Just about any good quality ATF will probably do as well. It doesn't take much, so I figured if going to the trouble to change it, why not use a synthetic. I just use the turkey-baster method to replace fluid in the reservoir. I have done this a few times now.

I would not use any PSF unless I knew that it was compatible with systems using Dex III.

Merry Christmas!

 

[Greg Bohn]

quote:

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Originally posted by 82DMC12:

quote:

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How can you tell this? The power steering fluid in my Toyota from the factory was a light amber color, but that does not mean it wasn't Dexron III or something similar. Search previous posts on this topic. Ken2 (I think) has some information that it is ATF, without the red dye.

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True, I guess since it's not red I assumed it wasn't Dexron.

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My 2002 Avalon came with 'non-red' fluid in the power steering, and I faced a similar dilema of what to replace it with. Since the manual/reservoir lid calls for ATF/Dexron, I figured I couldn't go wrong (warranty wise) with Mobil-1 ATF (which claims to be Dex-III certified as far as I can tell).

(Also, some newsgroups I'd seen had people saying they'd switched to Mobil-1 ATF, and they hadn't had any problems. I called Mobil and they said 'sure, it's good for ATF/Dexron spec'd Power steering...')

The guys at the Toyota dealership suggested I replace it with GM spec power steering fluid, but I had concerns about the warranty and if they were right...

I got the results of a UOA on the factory fluid after I changed it. (I changed it using the evacuate/replenish reservoir method. It works, but takes numerous changes to get a high percentage of the old stuff out...)

The factory fill additive levels look very different than the Dexron-III UOA I've seen (which is only a about three or four brands). The 'old' fluid had Calcium-1398, Phos-727, Zinc-1247. This is much higher than at least the UOA's for the Dex-III G ATF I've had analyzed.

So, I (rightly or wrongly) concluded that the factory fill was probably not Dex-III ATF. By then I had already changed to Mobil-1 ATF, and I still couldn't be sure what was really in the factory fill.

The Mobil-1 ATF seems to be working well so far so I've left it in (which has only been about 8 months and as always, your mileage may vary...).

-Greg

 

[82DMC12]

quote:

---

How can you tell this? The power steering fluid in my Toyota from the factory was a light amber color, but that does not mean it wasn't Dexron III or something similar. Search previous posts on this topic. Ken2 (I think) has some information that it is ATF, without the red dye.

---

True, I guess since it's not red I assumed it wasn't Dexron.

 

[JohnBrowning]

All Toyota products that I am aware of use Dex I,II or III for the power steering system. For a long time Toyota used standard red dyed ATF. At some point they started useing un-dyed Dex ATF in the p/s system.

Not all powersteering fluids are the same. Some types of power steering fluid can react negatively to some seal materials and hydralic line materials. I always use what is recomended. If you do not have Dex II or Dex III atf init right now you need to flush it and put in any DEX III you can find. I would use conventional not synthetic and I would use some AUto-Rx ASAP!!! If money is an issues then do it even faster. Racks are not cheap and they are often a pain to replace. If you have to pay someone else to do it for you then it cost even more!!!