I have a 2004 mercury sable. My car was missing an O ring to the high pressure hose for the power steering and was leaking. I put one in and the leak has stopped. When the car was running i put fluid in until the steering wheel turned easily. when the car gets turned off the power steering fluid foams and overflows out of the resevour. after it overflows the steering becomes hard again until more fluid is added. I know it is because air is in the there. Do I have to bleed the power steering and is there a certain way to do it for this car? I have heard for Ford Taurus, which is the same car, a vacuum is needed. thanks.
Power Steering Fluid Foaming
- Thread starter kajacobs16
- Start date
- Status
This usually occurs when the level is low.
Allow the fluid time to settle and add.
Allow the fluid time to settle and add.
The way I've done it in the past is to jack the front of the car up and turn the wheel side to side without the engine running, adding fluid as needed to keep it full. This works the air out of the system.
Get a cheap tapered rubber stopper from a hardware store that fits about halfway down the fill hole.Drill a hole through in the middle and insert a 1/4" hard plastic tube through it (a little RTV on the tube helps get it through the rubber).
Connect the hose to a mityvac hose and pull about 15lbs of vacuum (engine off) then leave it for a few hours,all the air will come out,check the vacuum periodically it will drop as air get evacuated.
This also cures a lot of noisy ford pumps,they get an air pocket in them that just wont budge using the normal method of turning it lock to lock and filling.
Connect the hose to a mityvac hose and pull about 15lbs of vacuum (engine off) then leave it for a few hours,all the air will come out,check the vacuum periodically it will drop as air get evacuated.
This also cures a lot of noisy ford pumps,they get an air pocket in them that just wont budge using the normal method of turning it lock to lock and filling.
Originally Posted By: brianl703
The way I've done it in the past is to jack the front of the car up and turn the wheel side to side without the engine running, adding fluid as needed to keep it full. This works the air out of the system.
Good system, works for me. In the OP's case, you might want to flush the fluid since it foamed and may contain contaminants. Easy to do if you have access to the power steering fluid reservoir. Disconnect the return line and direct the fluid into a container as you add new/clean fluid as somebody else slowly turns the wheel back and forth.
The way I've done it in the past is to jack the front of the car up and turn the wheel side to side without the engine running, adding fluid as needed to keep it full. This works the air out of the system.
Good system, works for me. In the OP's case, you might want to flush the fluid since it foamed and may contain contaminants. Easy to do if you have access to the power steering fluid reservoir. Disconnect the return line and direct the fluid into a container as you add new/clean fluid as somebody else slowly turns the wheel back and forth.
Last edited:
- Status