2003 taurus need help with ps and brake fluid

[chad8]

2003 taurus ses 28000 miles

My brake fluid was greenish color . I sucked it out with a turkey baster. I put supertech dot 3 fluid in . i will change it again in a week or so, Is that good enough?
my power steering fluid is going maroon color. I have some maxlife transmission fluid that I would like to use because the ps is groaning ( my wife's version)in the morning. I will suck out as much as i can when i get a new baster. My old one rotted from the brake fluid. I want to replace the old fluid with max life Dexron transmission for a week or 2 . Then I have some amsoil transmission fluid to do the second fluid change. Are these fluids fine to use?
I also have some clear pyroil ps and napa clear ps fluid too . Are these o.k. for the wash cycle or should I stick to red transmission fluids?
What would you recommend.

 

[JustinH]

You need to bleed the brakes at each caliper to do any good. Sucking some out of the master with a turkey baster isn't going to do any good.

A turkey baster method will work OK on a power steering rack. Make sure you start the car, and push the wheel back and forth a few times to activate the pump, and flush around the new fluid. It will take about half a gallon of fluid to get it flushed out.

I would read the owners manual as what fluid to use. Most of my older fords took ATF in the power steering rack, i'm not sure of your 03 taurus. I wouldn't use clear fluid if the spec is for ATF.

 

[wiswind]

Don't use the Pyroil or clear fluid in the power steering.....stick with the ATF.
Remember that ATF is red.....not clear, so redish color is normal.
However, FORDs tend to benefit from a change of the fluid.
Often, that is all that is needed to quiet down a noisy power steering system.
A synthetic ATF in there will hold up to heat better and give you much improved cold flow in those Michigan winters.
A few turkey baster changes will freshen up the power steering.

The best way to take care of the brake fluid......is to do what you did to freshen up the master cylinder, then bleed fluid from EACH wheel until the fluid comes out as clear as the fresh fluid in the master cylinder.
I found that it was easier to bleed the brakes by removing the bleeder screw......wrap 1 layer of teflon plumber tape over the threads....reinstall the bleeder screw.
This will prevent air from leaking around the threads of the bleeder screw while you are doing the job.....this is particularly if you are using a vaccum pump or the one man bleeder system.

I found that the "One Man" bleeder (I bought mine at AutoZone) works the easiest....and it is very inexpensive to buy.
You fit the hose to the bleeder screw......run the hose to the bottle.....mount the bottle in a location above the bleeder screw........open the bleeder screw......pump the brake pedal a couple of times.......close bleeder screw......remove and empty the bottle.......then repeat the process until the fluid comes out nice and clean.

Having the bottle higher than the bleeder screw causes the air to rise......so that no air is drawn back into the caliper (or wheel cylinder) when you release the brake pedal.

Expect some really nasty looking stuff to come out when you bleed the fluid at the wheels.

You might need up to 2 big bottles of brake fluid to do the job.
If the fluid turned green.....something is gowing in there.
You want to flush it out of the lines because the moisture will cause the steel brake lines to rust from the inside.....as well as cause problems with other parts of the system.
Don't get any brake fluid onto any painted surfaces of your vehicle.

Good news is......in spite of my rambling......it is a easy job to do.