IMPORTANT! POWER STEERING FLUID WARNING ! ! !

[Typrus]

This might wind up moved, but I figured it needed to at least start out where it'll best be seen.

OUR POWER STEERING SYSTEMS ARE NOT designed to take power steering fluid!! They SHOULD NOT have the clear stuff in them!

Our Power Steering systems are designed for Dexron II/III (3 supercedes 2) Automatic Transmission Fluid. NOT Power Steering Fluid. The chemical makeups of both are distincly different.

Power Steering Fluid (the clear stuff) will eat away, dissolve, swell, and destroy various seals, gaskets, and hoses in our Power Steering Systems. They are not cross-compatible. Over time, things will destroy themselves from the inside out leaving you with several hundreds of dollars in repairs.
The first parts to start to show signs are the Rack end-seals. If you're rubber boots are in good shape, you may not see it at first. But in that case, the fluid will fill the boot slightly up, get to the inner tie-rod ball-joint and eat away its lubricating grease. Then the boot will swell and eventually rupture.

Check it out.



The above is what the fluid in our Power Steering SHOULD look like.




The above is what happens to the clear stuff after 6 months. Care to know what the black gook is? A lot of it is suspended rubber from hoses and seals. Part of it is metallic matter. A little bit is normal wear, but never should 6 months do that to your fluid.


So please, go check your Power Steering Reservoir. If it has the clear stuff, it'll need a flush. If the red stuff inside has gone darker, it'll still need s flush, but for different reasons.

I'll tell you how to do a flush at home.

[Mickey_D]

What's funny is that my power steering system is all original, including the fluid. And it's clear fluid. Actually, it has kind of a yellowish tinge to it.

[Typrus]

Try stirring up the gunk at the bottom.
You sure its original? That fluid has a life before it gunks out, even if its the right stuff.

I dunno. Just going off the AllData info, Owners manual info, and the instructor who worked on these new at the dealership.

Mine looked fine until I got the crap out of the rack and hoses.

[Mac]

my echo came with clear fluid from the factory, but in the owners manual it says to use dextron III.

weird, but now its running Mobil1 Synthetic ATF (i'm a nut about synthetics)

[takza]

I flushed my other Japanese PS system and put in Mobil 1 synth ATF Dex III...plus some Lubegard ATF additive.

Doing the same thing to my truck.

You don't want to mix up those 2 fluids for sure.

Same reality for auto trannies...if you catch them early...under 100K miles...flush them good...add synth ATF and Lubegard...they will go way over the "typical" 120K miles rebuild limit. One guy has over 250K on an auto that "typically" goes out around 120K...he has changed the ATF in the pan every other oil change.

[GTSSportCoupe]

Interesting...thats probably why mine is leaking everywhere...although the level never seems to go down much. Guess I should flushh it and put in the right stuff.

[T-Bone]

hahahaha, mine was leaking everywhere too. the way i fixed it was by removing the whole system. now no more leaks.

[Typrus]

You swapped for manual?

The pumps aren't difficult to redo... $11.50 or so for a new seal/o-ring kit. They hold up pretty well. I'll get some pics on in a bit.

The biggest deal seems to be the hoses. The returns are easy enough. Just bulk hose of the proper makeup cut to length and clamped on. The pressure side though.... There is a pressure hose from the pump to the metal tubing, then one from the tubing to the gear. Yet every time I look for pressure hose, I find the "To Gear" easy enough, but the "From Pump" looks like the same as the to gear hose, just with the addition of the metal tubes. I'm confused, I must say.

The steering rack and gear... A Re-Seal kit for it is $99 versus a rebuilt for $180 after core. Risk new leaks because the rack housing is gouged? Or whathaveyou? Hard to say. Personal call I'd say.






I boiled them all in a 3:1 mix of Simple Green:Water. Dunno if I'd recommend it.

Its pretty simple, just don't lose anything and remember the order it goes in. Biggest part of rebuilding it is replacing the O-Rings and the main pulley-shaft seal.

[Max1234]

I know this is a super old thread, but I just bought an 86 wagon, and upon inspection found that that the wrong power steering has been used. It did exactly what you said, tore up the CV boot. If I flush the system and replace the boot will that be good enough or do I have to replace the whole rack and pinion now? Hopefully someone sees this, thanks!

[Gottolovem]

Just get the boot and fluid changed if it needs a rack down the road you will know it.

And welcome to the forum

[Petros]

ATF is cheap, do several refills, drive it a few days (turning the steering lock to lock) and drain and refill. Perhaps a third time if the fluid is not clear. That should clean it up and flush out the old fluid and any debris.

the system is pretty durable, I have the original rack and pump on my '84 with almost 400k miles on it. If you have some seepage from the seals you can try the power steering stop leak first, if it is not bad it usually works.

Good luck.

[dlb]

It did exactly what you said, tore up the CV boot. If I flush the system and replace the boot will that be good enough or do I have to replace the whole rack and pinion now? Hopefully someone sees this, thanks!

are you sure you mean CV boot? the PS fluid has nothing to do with the CV axles. if you have a torn CV boot, that's normal wear (it happens to all CV's eventually) and means it's time to replace that CV axle.

even the steering rack boots don't touch any PS fluid, the seals at the end of the racks keep the fluid inside it while the rack boots are outside. and they too wear out over time. they're easy enough to replace.

i also disagree with the original post of this thread. i unwittingly used PS fluid in my first tercel but it never caused any problems. forum member glet71 has that car now and i don't recall him having any problems with the power steering system either. that was 6-7 years ago i put the stuff in so i think it's ok. i would still advise using whatever the manual says, i just don't think it's all doom and gloom if you find PS fluid in there rather than ATF.

[Jonymoto]

Hi guys, can I ask how do you drain the power steering fluid? Do you simply disconnect a hose and let it drain out? Sorry for asking this question, but this is really for my RAV4 as my Tercel has manual steering. There is no drain point on the Rav. Up until now I've just been replacing the fluid in the power steering reservoir every 5,000kms/3,125miles.

[dlb]

i think this is in the FSM but i haven't actually looked at it. it's probably the same as in the ae95 FSM though, which i did with my pal a while back. for that car you are correct: you just disconnect the 'in' hose from the reservoir, put the end in a container, have someone start the car, and fill the reservoir with fresh fluid until the fluid coming out in the catching container is fresh.

[Jonymoto]

Thanks David.
So to facilitate future fluid changes, a tee valve is really required between the in hose and the reservoir (to avoid any spills).