what power steering fluid? ford

[howellt85]

ok so I have ford 1985 f150, had a bolt break that holds the gear box to the frame (fun weird bolt anyway) , well anyway about emptied the ps pump turning the wheel to get the broken bolt shank off.

well what ATF fluid is recommended ? ( I don't want ps fluid in the pump)

I looked through some books and they are all different some say atf( owners manual )
most say Dexron II(where do I get that if so?) some say Dex/Mercon some say mercon iv v ect. half say type F atf . Are they compatible in the pump?

original pump and gear box I'm leaning towards type F or Dexron II

 

[OVERKILL]

Mobil 1 ATF.

 

[Garak]

I'd lean towards Dex/Merc. My 1983 LTD was the last one I saw that called for Type F. I don't have the manual for my 1984 F-150, unfortunately. Maybe someone else here has a manual for the relevant year.

 

[285south]

Mobil 1 ATF.

 

[Chris142]

My 87 F250 specs Type F. Ford used F into the 90's. I'm guessing they had barrels of it when they switched to Dexron around 1979 and used F in the PS to get ride of it all.

 

[95busa]

Dex merc

 

[Garak]

There's your answer then. My shop manual just listed the Ford PSF part number, which wouldn't do us any good. The Dex/Merc would probably work just as well, too; it's not likely that picky. My LTD's pump ran dry for probably close to 50 miles on the highway years back (very long straight stretch of road and even longer story). It just got the Ford whine, but continued working until the car got written off, many, many miles later.

 

[michaelluscher]

It's all good man

M1, Maxlife, AZ Type F, Mercon, Mercon V.

 

[howellt85]

well ok got my owners manual ( original 1985) and it says
to use Dexron II ( out dated atf ) bex/merc equivalent?

are they all the same in this ps system?

mix in match no biggy ?

 

[charbaby]

You should be able to use any DexIII/Merc ATF

 

[exranger06]

My 94 Explorer still specs Type F. I don't think it would matter much if you used Mercon though.

 

[01rangerxl]

Originally Posted By: howellt85
well ok got my owners manual ( original 1985) and it says
to use Dexron II ( out dated atf ) bex/merc equivalent?

are they all the same in this ps system?

mix in match no biggy ?


I'm kind of surprised it doesn't say Type F. That's what Ford usually spec'd until the early/mid 90s. I know my parents' '86 Ranger used Type F in the PS pump.

I would think Dex/Merc would be fine.

 

[GSCJR]

Type F

 

[Whimsey]

My 1996 Contour spec's Type F ATF for the PS, even though if you had an automatic transmission it used Mercon for the transmission. I've done "turkey baster" PS changes with Type F ATF and so far it's been great. I don't feel comfortable mixing Type F and Mercon in a PS system that originally spec'd Type F ATF. The Type F ATF works great in my PS rack and pinion steering. My 2002 F-150 PS uses Mercon which I use. Ironically if you had an auto transmission that would have used Mercon V. Not sure what Ford does now a days concerning the PS fluid.

Whimsey

 

[Garak]

Don't quote me on it, since the car is long gone, but I'm pretty sure my 1990 Town Car called for Mercon for power steering. Maybe OVERKILL will read this and tell us if he remembers what the 1989 Town Car he had took for PSF.

 

[OVERKILL]

Originally Posted By: Garak
Don't quote me on it, since the car is long gone, but I'm pretty sure my 1990 Town Car called for Mercon for power steering. Maybe OVERKILL will read this and tell us if he remembers what the 1989 Town Car he had took for PSF.


Yup, my '89 Town Car and my '87 Mustang both spec'd Mercon. However I think my '88 F-250 spec'd Type F

I used Mobil 1 ATF in all of them.

I'm currently using AMSOIL ATF in the Expedition and it does (like the M1 did) a commendable job of eliminating the Ford PS pump whine.

 

[tig1]

I've used Mobil 1 ATF for many years in Ford PS pumps and have never had a failure. I turkey baster every engine oil change.

 

[Garak]

Maybe Ford used Mercon for Town Cars and the like and Type F for everything else to differentiate the brand.

It's probably not a big deal and tig1's choice has served him well for a very long time, too.

 

[howellt85]

well my wife's 1997 Windstar( 196,000+ miles !)

uses Mercon V PS fluid

so they used a lot of different specs for the same power steering pump and gear box/rack n pinion system

 

[charbaby]

Was Mercon V available in 1997 ?