Does it get low sometimes???? Got a little whine the other day after I got my gear install. Get home and check the level and it is on the cold line. Just wondering if you can lose a little fluid over time...... I also put the get down a couple times on the way home to feel the gears. Took on curve pretty hard. Maybe I lost some fluid to boil over??? Nothing on the reservoir though....

btw..... filled it up and cranked it.... no whine

 

Do you have a "factory" power steering fluid cooler....?

The metal pipe that's built into the upper radiator hose. They are notorious for leaking into the coolant. If you do have one......Check your coolant for black crud and little black ***** of crud.

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will do.... thanks

 

looks as if I have the long upper hose.... Guess that means no cooler. Kind of started to whine again. I get home and check the level.... right on the money. Maybe the pump is wanting to crap or maybe it is the gears running my rpm's up and heating the p/s pump???

 

Yes. In particular the pressure hose is prone to leaking slightly. So, over time, you will loose fluid. Your pressure hose is probably coated in it. If the level doesn't drop fast, there's nothing to worry about.


Maybe. Replacing lost fluid with clean stuff should help a boil over problem. Flushing it completely should eliminate it.

 

I've read really good things about the Lucas Oil Power Steering Stop Leak. Even if it's not leaking, I've read lots of reviews of it curing "whiny" power steering pumps.

 

THIS^^^ (bolded above), as long as the pump is not on it's way out anyway, or there are no other major leaks in the rack, or lines.

I would use a great fluid like Red Line PSF, or Royal Purple's Max Ez stuff when you do flush it out, despite the cost, since this is usually NOT changed as often as oil, or even the diff/trans.

 

^^This is actually the ONLY Lucas product I trust, or would consider using at all in my f body

 

about to order a turkey baster and some red line P/S fluid from Amazon right now.....

thanks and will update

 

If you're going to flush the system, definitely check if the pressure hose is leaking and just replace that while you're at it. 363-363170 ACDelco number -- $28 from Amazon shipped

 

started the flush....... 1st bottle out was BLACK as night. Got to about the 5th bottle and it was still dark, but nowhere near as bad. I cold hold the 1st bottle up to the sun and see nothing. 5th bottle I could see sunlight. Reordered another 2 qts of redline.

Will update again soon

 

Turkey baster method is a joke man......you will never get it clean.

Do it this way.....fast and easy. My write up from years ago. Looks like a lot......but it's like a 5-10 minute process and you are done. Every single drop of old fluid will come out. You will have pure, clean, fresh fluid back in.


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Power Steering Fluid Flush:

You and 2 friends.

First thing.......take a plastic kitchen garbage bag and put it on top of the alternator and then tuck it down and around the alternator.....PS fluid kills alternators.

Jack up the front of the car and put it on jack stands so you can turn the wheels left and right.

Engine and fluids….COLD.

Remove the hose that attaches to the bottom of the reservoir. Immediately cap that port with a vacuum port type rubber cap so the fluid doesn't pour out. You can buy assorted cap kits at the auto parts store. Or you can use a 2 foot piece of 3/8" heater hose to quickly slip on the port and just point the other end up higher than the reservoir cap so none comes out. Tape it or clamp it in place.

The hose you just removed from the reservoir.......Point it down under the car into a drain pan. This is the hose either coming from the factory cooler (if you have one).....or its coming from the rack (if you do not have the factory cooler). Either way, doesn't matter.

Have a friend hold that hose into the pan and keep his thumb over the end and wait there. The entire flush is a matter of 2 minutes.

Have another friend with 4 new OPEN bottles of PS fluid ready to start dumping it into the reservoir.

REMOVE THE GARBAGE BAG.....BEFORE STARTING......

You get in the car and start the engine.

Your friend removes his finger from the hose end and lets the fluid shoot into the pan. As you turn the wheels FULL right and left have your friend pour new fluid into the reservoir as the level drops. It could drop fast so be ready to pour. Fluid will come shooting out of the hose into the pan.

As soon as the friend holding the hose sees clean new fluid coming out into the pan.............stop the engine.
(if the friend that is pouring fluid in ever sees the reservoir about to run dry because he cannot pour it in fast enough, simply have him tell you to shut the engine off. Top it off and start the engine again. Don't let it run dry.)

Put the hose back onto the reservoir, clamp it. Top it off with PS fluid.

Your done.

CHECK to see if during this project you spilled any power steering fluid onto or into the alternator. If you did, simply drench it with WD-40 or SeaFoam spray to clean it. Then rinse it real good with hose water. Go for a 10 minute drive, take a bottle of fluid with you in case you hear any noise you can pull over immediately and top it off. Then come back and check the level one more time. Its fine to take the cap off when its hot. Top off the fluid if needed.

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Un hook from current factory intercooler ad get an aftermarket one from autozone ......and the whine you are hearing is A...either air in the powersteering lines......check all the connections especially the ones that go to the rack an pinion ....or B....your seals are going bad and your sucking in air through the back of the pump in which case i reccommend replacing it altogether because replacing the seals yourself is a PITA and it only works for a short fix......

 

This is what I do with mine, and it works great. BUT, I do this with every oil change, so I don't ever need a complete system flush.

I agree that if you're starting with a neglected or contaminated system, it's better/quicker/easier to do a proper complete flush. After that, I've found that a simple drain/refill of the reservoir on a regular basis is adequate for system maintenance.