LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Honestly, all I've used in my PS system for the 19 years I've owned my car.....off the shelf Pep Boys or Advance Auto brand fluid. I've probably done 5-6 total fluid changes where I drained every drop of the old fluid out and flushed it, then put in all new fluid.

Factory 1998 original PS pump, original rack, and its still silent and strong. No leaks anywhere. So I think its safe to say the cheapest brand is just as good as the best brand.

There's a lot of things on cars where the expensive stuff is 100% meaningless and will offer absolutely no benefits compared to the cheapest stuff......

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Z28 6spd

iTrader: (3)

Been following this thread for a while and finally deleted my factory "cooler" today. My car doesn't have many miles on it, but I wasn't gonna push my luck any longer. After reading the temperature testing RPM WS6 did, I decided to just run the return line back to the reservoir like a 98 or 99 non PSC car. I only use the car for normal driving and keep the PS fluid changed on a regular basis so I saw no need for an aftermarket cooler.

For anyone considering this, it's pretty simple as most have already stated here. I used a Dayco E71981 upper rad hose, cut 9" off the existing PS return hose and hooked it to the reservoir. Done deal and no chance of fluids mixing now.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Just remember.....heat kills everything. With an after market PS fluid cooler it will absolutely extend the life of your pump, hoses and seals in the rack.......if the fluid is always cooler, rather than always hot as hell.

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RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Based on your climate and how you use the car, I would agree that the cooler isn't necessary - especially since you keep the fluid changed like I do. The 19 year old pump on my '98 is doing just fine without ever having had a cooler, nor do I get any cap weeping/boil over/etc.

Firebrian

I monitored my PS fluids the past 2 yrs after I bypassed the PS heat exchanger. Before the change I would routinely run about 185-190 deg F in the summer heat (85-90 deg ambient). After the change I see up to 190-200 deg F range in summer. During occasional winter driving (35-45 deg F ambient) I checked the temp and it was around 145-160 deg F. No doubt with the heat exchanger it would have heated up faster and gotten hotter. I noticed that when I kept my reservoir at the "full" cold mark, it would tend to burp some fluid out around the cap. So now I run it near the bottom of the normal range and that no longer happens.

I still may install a finned cooler but I'm not too big about cutting a hole in my air dam. Any location that would drop the temp 15-20 deg or more in summer would be fine. I feed and bleed 32 oz of PS fluid after every summer....still using the AC Delco since at $6.50/qt it's not exactly breaking the bank.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Odd that you have the cap weeping/boil over issue even with fresh fluid every year. I only change mine every two years, but I keep it right at the "full cold" mark and don't even have the slightest sign of dampness around the cap to date. I can't image your ambient summer temps in the northeast are much different than what I see in the Great Lakes area, and we have similar mileage on our stock pumps.

I've used a few different fluid brands; AC Delco, Prestone, and Valvoline. All were just standard PS versions, nothing special. No difference in performance as far as I can tell.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

When was the last time you did a complete flush of your fluid?

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

And....removing the factory PS fluid cooler (heater) is actually a plus by itself, even if you do not add an aftermarket cooler. Your PS fluid will always run cooler than it did with the factory cooler.

The factory cooler is a "heater" after the engine is warmed up.

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Z28 6spd

iTrader: (3)

Exactly. With the coolant temps these cars run at, I couldn't see how it would pull heat out of the PS fluid during normal driving. Between that and the chance of the fluids mixing, I'm glad I got rid of it.

LS6427

iTrader: (2)

Yup. A lot of people like to talk about how the factory PS fluid cooler is really meant to heat up the PS fluid. Thats ridiculous in my opinion. Because the coolant in our cars takes a good 15 minutes to reach operating temp. 99% of the people who drive are already at their destination in 15 minutes.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with fluid that is just warm running through the system. There is no need or requirement for it to be HOT.....not even for any kind of road race car. The cooler the better. And I don't mean ice cold.....just warm is all it needs to be.

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Firebrian

The car had 12K miles when I got it....18K now. I've never done a complete PS flush (on this car or any car for that matter). No idea if the previous owner did, though not likely. I've exchanged 32 oz of fluid via the turkey baster method every year since getting it. So that's 5 qts of bleed and feed via the the reservoir or several reservoir refills per quart....on a 1 quart system. Many never change their PS fluid ever and never have an issue in 150K miles. Considering my car is never tracked. Just regular turns on the roadways in normal driving. I do note that when I first crack open the PS reservoir cap, there's a slight pressure under it since it makes a quick "swoosh" sound.

The first drive I took after bypassing the PS cooler (within 1-2 days) it was noted the PS fluid reservoir temp was running 5-10 deg hotter than before. It's been that way ever since. The coolant system was thoroughly flushed at 12K miles (2012). Last summer I did a pair of feed and bleed on the radiator over a couple week period with 2 gallons of 50/50 DexCool. Both systems are clean.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

Something's not right. I'd still do a full flush to see what's up. If that doesn't give you an easy miracle, I'd think that you have a problem in the pump. Maybe your relieve valve is sticking and allowing the system to over-pressure and heat up more than normal?

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

^Either the above, or perhaps the seal on the cap has gone bad and allows some fluid weep when the system is properly filled? But I agree that something isn't right here, there really shouldn't be boil over with fresh fluid, low mile pump, normal driving, and the general fluid temps listed above.

For additional reference, I also use the turkey baster method to minimize mess, but I exchange less than a full quart, and that's only every two years. However, I've been doing this since the car was just 6 years old so at no point in it's history was the fluid ever very old. My pump also has just under 18k miles on it, cap/seal is original.

Firebrian

I'll have to plan for a complete open line flush next time it's convenient. I did some reading the past couple of hours on reservoirs that pressurize and your only choices are a combination of overheating the fluid, overfilling the system, sucking in air on the suction line, and reservoir caps that have leak by or plugged/failed cap vents. I don't think I have any of those issues.

The Dodge Cummins trucks had a common issue where the cap vent hole gets plugged up and there's no way to release reservoir pressure. Our reservoir caps are spring loaded though I don't know if there's a secondary path under that orange gasket to keep pressure from venting. What pressure do those relieve at? My pump really doesn't leak fluid when it's running. If it does, it's only the lightest bit of dampness right around the filler neck base. It's probably more from the brief relief of pressure when I pop the cap and some oily mist ends deposits around filler neck. Today I went for a drive in 55 deg weather and the reservoir was slightly pressurized at the end of a 20 mile drive. The fluid at that time was 175 deg F....too low to be boiled off/mist.

I read a lot of posts from various sites about reservoirs being pressurized being fairly common, even on new vehicles. Some consider it normal. Others don't. Then you have the vehicles that are blowing PS fluid all over the alternator/serpentine belt....that's not normal. Considering the pump casing is only 3-4 inches from the engine exhaust header, wouldn't putting a heat shield on the back of the pump be helpful to reduce radiant heat absorption? The installed heat shield off the closest cylinder directs heat directly at the pump reservoir. Not a great design.

There will always be some misting which is normal even at the correct operating temperature (275 degrees measured at the reservoir).

The above statement was made about a month ago in this thread. Clearly that's too hot a temp for our PS systems.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

If the deposits are that minor, then you very possibly have found the answer here. Other than the brief period when I was checking fluid temps, I don't ever recall taking the cap off with a still-warm engine bay, it's always been when everything was cold. So maybe that's why I've never gotten those minor deposits - because otherwise, we essentially have the same exact setup with the same sort of wear/age and maintenance routine; results should be virtually identical.

Wow. Based on the readings I took from my own, in near 90°F ambient temps with no cooler at all, I can't even imagine how someone could possibly reach 275°F on the street - nor how anyone could consider this "correct operating temperature". Good catch on this error.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

This is odd. The reservoir shouldn't hold any noticeable pressure. The pump creates suction, the expanding fluid needs space, and the return line has a very little amount of pressure, so the reservoir is the place where everything comes to a happy point with the atmosphere.

Per one of the points you made above, I wonder if you are getting an aerosol because air is being pumped in to your fluid. When you look at it when the right after turning off the engine, is it foamy or a different color from what it is when you start the engine cold?

King Nothing

iTrader: (9)

I opted for this location

I'm just getting my suspension back together and once it's on the road I can see if my fluid getting and staying hot was the issue or if the issue is something else. The fluid in mine was ATF (not my choice) and was constantly "weeping" out of the cap. One drive from my house to my buddies shop in sac via the freeway (75 miles) we had the car up on the lift and as we turn the tires left and right we could watch fluid fluid come out of the cap with the car off and it had been sitting for 30 minutes. The pump is a Turn1 pump (put on a few years ago by previous owner) and the rack is the original rack from 2000 and it was a PSC optioned car.

kingtal0n

iTrader: (1)

I've been using auto trans fluid in all my PS Pumps in every car since like 2005 when I read that was what was called for in the service manual of the nissan car (240sx) I had at the time. Seemed kinda strange at first but... eh? Ill put ATF in my LS1 pump like everything else.

wssix99

iTrader: (5)

What point are you making?

... So you found out that you had been putting incorrect fluids in your vehicles based on the specs for one car made long ago...

... Now that you have discovered the mistake, you are going to keep doing it?

King Nothing

iTrader: (9)

So the ATF in my pump might be the problem I'm having??