Do you flush your power steering system?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Feb 16, 2017
Messages
81
Location
Michigan
Hello guys and gals. I have a question. Do you flush your power steering system at all or do you leave the factory fluid in it all it’s life? I was just told by a few mechanics to never flush my power steering unit or my transmission or engine coolant because if I flush it then it will cause it to fail and not work correctly and slip. I call total old school mechanic thinking for these reasons they gave me. I look at it this way. Why would they make these fluids if they never need to be changed? Why do they make transmission filters if the fluid never needs to be changed? Fluids break down over time and don’t last forever. Saying not to change the fluids would be like saying don’t change your oil cause the new oil will just cause the engine to wear out faster and not operate properly. Lol

What do you guys think? Reason I’m asking is cause my car is a first gen Ford Fusion and it has about 130,000 miles on it and the power steering fluid has never been changed but it has been topped up cause it was low one time but it’s dark as can be and smells like old transmission fluid. I was thinking to do the turkey baster method and suck out the fluid in the reservoir and add new and drive the car for a day and do the same thing over and over again till the fluid is nice and red since this car takes atf fluid as the power steering fluid. Also I want to get a transmission service done in it with a new filter but I’ve been told if I do that with this many miles in the car it will just cause the transmission to slip really bad and fail. I had a transmission service done before at 75,000 miles I think it was and never had it slip. Just had the rpm flair when it shifted but that went away with reprogramming.
 
Last edited:
I turkey baster the reservoir once a year. It's an easy and gentle way to replenish the PSF and its additives.
 
Originally Posted By: mclasser
I turkey baster the reservoir once a year. It's an easy and gentle way to replenish the PSF and its additives.


+1 except for my Civic which does not have P/S.
 
Originally Posted By: Chris Meutsch
I have never touched any PS system in any car I owned. So far, so good. Started driving in 1994.


Same here, but since 1973.
 
I do the turkey baster thing myself. For my last couple vehicles, I used Maxlife trans fluid in the power steering. My F150 is electric power assist, though.

As far as the transmission in your car, I wouldn't hesitate to get the old fluid and filter out. I would rather get some new stuff in there, regardless of the old sayin' that you're doomed if you swap out trans fluid so late in a transmission's life. I'm confident that you will be safe swapping out the old fluid/filter.
 
Originally Posted By: mclasser
I turkey baster the reservoir once a year. It's an easy and gentle way to replenish the PSF and its additives.


Same here. Though I regretted it the first time I drew out the fluid on my '97 C-Class and refilled with the OEM dealer fluid. Stuff smelled like stale garlic pretzels dissolved in male cat spray. After that I used MaxLife.
 
I turkey base the power steering in all my vehicles whenever I see that's its dark or if it's been a while. I would say approx twice per year
 
What I have heard about the transmission fluid is to drop pan, change filter, replenish. This should not damage the transmission. The experts seem to say avoid power flushes at higher mileage because it can stir up or flush out debris. If the transmission is OK, a drain and fill should not hurt. For power steering fluid I use the turkey baster method, takes patience and multiple times. Getting rid of entrapped air is messy and difficult on my Ford Taurus. Baster method eliminates that.

Scott
 
Turkey baste 32 oz of fluid into your PS steering system over the next month or so. Do a trans pan drop and fill, change filter. That will refresh 1/3-1/2 of your fluid and make a gradual change towards clean fluid. Depending on how it drives, you can do more drain and fills in the coming months/next year....ideally, you have a drain plug somewhere on your system.

The fact that automatic transmission and PS fluids shear down rather rapidly and oxidize due to heat is reason enough to change them by every 20K-30K miles. If you use a synthetic fluid then the shear should not be an issue. Conventional and semi-synthetic will shear down 10-20% during a 20K-30K mile interval. That means a 7.4 cSt viscosity fluid could end up at 5.9. Go longer and you can lower it into the 4's. Manual transmissions that use ATF's can shear conventional fluids down 25% in 10K miles.
 
The whole "don't change tranny fluid on high mileage/not regularly serviced transmissions" is [censored]. Power flush with one of those machines? No. A drain&fill and filter change if applicable with the correct fluid is never a bad idea.

Radiator drain & fills are good too. Again, not a fan of power flushes or flush chemicals. Pointless on the cooling system unless it's badly neglected.

Brake fluid is better to properly flush but that's a lot of work. Sucking it out with a (clean, unused) turkey baster thing is ok once in a while if the fluid looks bad. Could always check with one of those test strips to see if water content is too high

Power steering fluid, no idea, just use the right fluid! that's important
 
I do a periodic suck/fill of any hydraulic power steering system I touch. It's cheap insurance. Power steering is probably the most abused system in a car, we all do it(lock to lock turns, city driving, maneuvering parking lots).
 
I suck out and replace the fluid periodically in the G37. On the other hand, the taxis went hundreds of thousands of miles without the fluid being replaced, without the pumps failing. So, am I really accomplishing something?
 
I do several turkey blaster drain and fills on a neglected system then a single turkey blaster drain and fill yearly/ every other oil change.
 
I've found that the turkey baster method about every 50,000 miles keeps the system in good working order. Any hydraulic fluid can get dirty and/or collect moisture and impurities; the system was designed to work with fresh fluid....



Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack


+1 except for my Civic which does not have P/S.


Ah, for those days again! Love the direct feel but I digress....
 
Never have I done this, and I've been driving now since 1958.

Most of my cars I keep till they have in excess of 200,000 miles.
 
Don't have but one hydraulic left - but swap a bottle of synthetic once a year when I do my trans pan dump and external filter.
Use this:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top