Change power steering fluid or not?

[Boognish_Forever]

I'm pretty sure my 99 hasn't had the power steering fluid ever changed. I thought about sucking the old brown fluid out of the reservoir and put new Dexron ATF and keep doing this once a week till its red. Power steering is working fine and have no abnormal noises. The steering rack does have a very small leak and only top it off once a year.

Should I change it out or will this cause more issues with the rack and blow seals with the new fluid. I kind of look at this situation if the transmission fluid hasn't been changed in a very long time and is brown, best thing is to just leave it alone. I also don't want to ruin the pump with old fluid, hence the reason on doing the change. It currently stands at 117,000 miles

 

[mtbtim]

I would guess your reservoir filter screen is mostly blocked with deposits. I recommend you follow what I show in this video and give your power steering system some love. You won't hurt anything by doing it.

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[4x3Lander]

I did the above service Tim demonstrates in the video. Although my screen was OK (not good or bad), I was really happy with now having a completely clean screen and new fluid. No issues at all and STILL clean fluid.

 

[Bad Luck]

New fluid and remove the reservoir to clean the screen. You’ll be surprised how clogged that screen is. It’s really easy to do and it’s only 3 bolts to remove the power steering reservoir.

 

[brillo_76]

I mostly change the o ring on the bottom of the reservoir when I clean them. So I don't have leaks. Granted, I have 2 of my power steering pumps moaning and they Have clean screens in the reservoirs. :/ milage has to be getting them...

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[19963.4lsr5]

I need to do this. However, I regularly suck the fluid out and put new atf in it.


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[jgue467]

...I regularly suck the fluid out and put new atf in it.

+1 Its all i ever do, turkey baster suck out and refill several times. Here's what the last removal looked like, sun wouldn't even shine thru it, haha.

The power steering works well despite. Luck all.

 

[brillo_76]

I suck mine out with my brake bleeder hand pump. Does a decent job.

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[Boognish_Forever]

I mostly change the o ring on the bottom of the reservoir when I clean them. So I don't have leaks. Granted, I have 2 of my power steering pumps moaning and they Have clean screens in the reservoirs. :/ milage has to be getting them...

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I know you deal with rusty runners. Have you ever snapped any bolts when taking off the reservoir?

 

[Boognish_Forever]

I mostly change the o ring on the bottom of the reservoir when I clean them. So I don't have leaks. Granted, I have 2 of my power steering pumps moaning and they Have clean screens in the reservoirs. :/ milage has to be getting them...

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Can you see if the screen is dirty by just sucking out the fluid and not taking off the reservoir?


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[brillo_76]

Can you see if the screen is dirty by just sucking out the fluid and not taking off the reservoir?


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Using a bright light or the sun... Yes you can see the screen..

 

[FD7683]

When I had to clean my reservoir filter due to a whining noise the fluid wasn't changed in around 10+ years so it was overdue. Cleaned the mesh filter but re-used the o-ring and it bit me in the ass. Kept whining despite the many times bleeding it with the wheels up so I figured something was wrong with the pump. Decided to rebuild the pump with new seals (didn't need to do this) and the kit came with an o-ring for the reservoir. Bleeding session #3 using Toyota instructions and it was finally quiet. Pinched o-ring was my issue so I highly recommend replacing it if you remove the reservoir.

I used Tim's video for the PSF flush - worked great! Brand new fluid is great in the system. You don't have to run the truck to flush it out, you can just lift it up on jack stands and turn the wheel lock to lock to manually pump the fluid out.

 

[brillo_76]

When I had to clean my reservoir filter due to a whining noise the fluid wasn't changed in around 10+ years so it was overdue. Cleaned the mesh filter but re-used the o-ring and it bit me in the ass. Kept whining despite the many times bleeding it with the wheels up so I figured something was wrong with the pump. Decided to rebuild the pump with new seals (didn't need to do this) and the kit came with an o-ring for the reservoir. Bleeding session #3 using Toyota instructions and it was finally quiet. Pinched o-ring was my issue so I highly recommend replacing it if you remove the reservoir.

I used Tim's video for the PSF flush - worked great! Brand new fluid is great in the system. You don't have to run the truck to flush it out, you can just lift it up on jack stands and turn the wheel lock to lock to manually pump the fluid out.

Interesting, rebuilding didn't fix it. Thanks for sharing... I always keep o rings in inventory.

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