power steering and coolant problems need help
02-27-2012, 12:36 PM
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Staging Lane
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power steering and coolant problems need help i have a 98 ws6....and the power steering fluid is nasty and the coolent is nasty..ive heard the power steering cooler can leak and cause this...is the cooler in or connected to the radiator? some ppl say dex cool is why the coolent is nasty its been mixed or just old but why is my power steering fluid look almost the same and theres no leak so were is the fluid going....
02-27-2012, 12:39 PM
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Staging Lane
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everyone i know aint sure what going on with it...and my teacher for auto mechanics says the coolers seprate and couldnt cause fluid to get into the coolant...and its just dexcool needs changed
02-27-2012, 12:52 PM
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Your teacher doesn't understand how the power steering cooler is designed on these cars. It's a coupler between two sections of the radiator hose that allows coolant to pass through the center, while power steering fluid is circulated around the outer section of the cooler. If a leak occurs in this coupler, then the fluids can mix. This sort of leak has happed to many people, and is something you can read more about if you search this topic on this site. You can see how the cooler is attached to the radiator hose just by looking at the hose that connects to the driver's side of your radiator.
If the fluids have mixed, you will need to flush both systems (PS and coolant), and obviously fix the leak. You can either replace the cooler, or you can delete it. Many people go without the cooler, and in the early years only the SS and WS6 cars received the cooler (base V8 models did not have one). It became standard on all V8 models in either '01 or '02.
If you want to delete the cooler rather than replace it, you'll need to get a radiator hose for a regular '98 Trans Am (no WS6).
If the fluids have mixed, you will need to flush both systems (PS and coolant), and obviously fix the leak. You can either replace the cooler, or you can delete it. Many people go without the cooler, and in the early years only the SS and WS6 cars received the cooler (base V8 models did not have one). It became standard on all V8 models in either '01 or '02.
If you want to delete the cooler rather than replace it, you'll need to get a radiator hose for a regular '98 Trans Am (no WS6).
02-28-2012, 04:14 PM
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thanks for posting...been trying to fig out for a month..i found a new one from gm for 200$..or autozone has the small cooler u can mount and get new top hose for bout 60$ total...id rather just delete it or put the orignal part back on...but for 200$ im not sure
02-28-2012, 10:05 PM
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Feel free to delete the cooler if you want. The early LS1 Z28s and Trans Ams (base) didn't even come with them stock. It's a marginal cooler at best. If you use the car in such a way where you require cooling of the power steering fluid, you'd be better off with an aftermarket cooler.
