I finally found out that my local shop when replacing the PS pump on my '99 Camaro SS switched over to Dex VI (ie Wolf's Head synthetic Dex VI HD) despite me telling and providing them with the correct fluid. What I had in there prior was the factory GM light amber PS fluid (GM 89021182, 19329448 or 19329450, also called AC Delco 10-1073, 10-1074 depending on 16 or 32 oz size). I searched through old Bitog, Reddit, Quora, LS1Tech.com threads on the subject. Plenty have done it w/o any negative effects. In fact I don't think I found one instance where someone positively confirmed a failure or major issue with a fluid change to ATF. Many others don't recommend the kinematic viscosity drop (7.5 to 6.1), higher detergent pack, and the FM"s of the ATF. Even GM uses Dex VI in their later vehicles though the old GM Saginaw PS spec is still in play on many older cars. The shop told me they called a GM/Chevy dealer and was told the Dex VI is the "correct" fluid. That's clearly not right as any google search will immediately call up the original GM PS fluid.
So is there any chance of messing up seals or other parts of the steering gear with this change? I'm not really worried about the pump as it's a decent quality "knock-off" made by Atlantic Power Steering/AAE Steering.com. AC Delco no longer makes the original pumps. I have no idea if the shop properly flushed out ALL the old fluid before replacing the reservoir/pump. The reservoir was basically empty when they got the car as it had a crack in the reservoir base. I'm pretty fussy about the fluids used in the car as it's a factory stock 20K miles in very nice shape. Why change what has worked fine for 26 years without any issues, noises, etc? The pump/reservoir took a "whack" when the plastic PS pulley came off and went down the road behind me.
Opinions appreciated.
So is there any chance of messing up seals or other parts of the steering gear with this change? I'm not really worried about the pump as it's a decent quality "knock-off" made by Atlantic Power Steering/AAE Steering.com. AC Delco no longer makes the original pumps. I have no idea if the shop properly flushed out ALL the old fluid before replacing the reservoir/pump. The reservoir was basically empty when they got the car as it had a crack in the reservoir base. I'm pretty fussy about the fluids used in the car as it's a factory stock 20K miles in very nice shape. Why change what has worked fine for 26 years without any issues, noises, etc? The pump/reservoir took a "whack" when the plastic PS pulley came off and went down the road behind me.
Opinions appreciated.
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