Air in PS fluid when its cold

[countryboy9799]

I put some Prestone brand ps fluid in from Walmart. Ever since then when it gets cold I have noticed a whine from the ps pump and also bubbles in the resivior. I was suprised to see that one morning it was 20- and I looked in the bottle and it was almost like a gel. Can anyone recommend a good brand of PS fluid for an 03 nissan altima. Thanks

 

[JHZR2]

redline PS fluid...

I like the old pennzoil "blue" PS fluid. Not sure if it exists anymore though...

JMH

 

[JHZR2]

Actually, it does still exist... Not sure where to buy it, I got mine at HD closeout.

Decent specs for a low-priced fluid.

http://www.pzlqs.com/Tech/Pdsheet/DomesticMarketing/Specialty/pdf/PowerSteeringFluid.PDF

JMH

 

[unDummy]

Nissans typically use ANY dex/merc as the PSF.
Do not use generic PSF in your Nissan.

Your solution with be ANY full synthetic ATF with a dex/mer rating. RoyalPurple, Redline, Amsoil, Mobil 1,.... would be easy choices and fix your incorrect fluid problem. You'll need 2 quarts to perform 4-5 siphon refills(with 10 minutes of driving in between), to remove all the old and incorrect fluid.

 

[countryboy9799]

Thanks, I will look into this.

On the morning it was 20- I did look at the ATF I had and it was still quite fluid, could even tell by the way it sounded sloshing around in the jug, the PS did not do that at all.

I know we always used to use ATF years ago but didnt know if it would work on this nissan.

 

[mechtech2]

If you have bubbles, it is not bled.
Force the issue or give it some time to fix itself - they generally do.
Power steering pumps can get super hot, and will benefit from a full synthetic ATF fluid. That synthetic is also best in real cold temps.

 

[chrome]

His bubbles could be due to the fact that his power steering fluid is not really a "fluid" anymore that those temps. The pump could be cavitating as it was designed to pump fluid, and not a thick viscous gel...

 

[artificialist]

If your P/S reservoir states to use ATF, buy a premium synthetic ATF, and use it. That is what I did with my dad's old Lexus ES300, and it worked extremely well.

 

[countryboy9799]

I think Chrome has it right as I thought and thats what I was trying to figure out what to replace it with. As stated above at 20- the prestone ps fluid I got from walmart in the red bottle was pretty close to a gel and ps pumps dont pump gel. I will get some syn. ATF in it shortly, at least for now I wont have to drive it in cold temps where it should be a problem. Thanks for the help guys.

 

[wiswind]

This is another example of why we have to carefully read up on the fluids to use in our particular vehcile.
Common sense would lead one to use ATF in the transmission, and power steering fluid in the power steering.

My 96 windstar owner's manual says to use the OEM "power steering fluid" and lists a part number, and also lists a Motorcraft specification number.
Researching the specification number led me to the information that I need a ATF.

So, in short, I understand people putting power steering fluid into their vehicle's power steering units that should have ATF.

 

[PT1]

Try some Royal Purple MaxEZ and you will be cured for life. I use it in my GMC p/s pump and it quiets the whine that has plagued those units for years. My dealer replaced the unit at 10,000 miles and re-filled with GM syn power steering fluid which went about 5,000 miles until the whine came back. So I got the unit heated up by driving and extracted 1 reservoir full of GM fluid and replaced it with the RP. Started the truck and the whine was gone in 30 seconds. Did about 8 drain re-fills over the next 3 weeks and it hasn't whined since which is almost 20,000 miles ago. Now I do a drain re-fill every 10,000 miles.