4WD
$50 site donor 2025
I wish - only one left that takes fluid - the Mopar liquid gold.
That makes sense as GM has typically recommended to use Power Steering Fluid in their PS systems, not Dexron III.i had dex III in my silverado’s P/S system . went back with GM P/S fluid and it was a night and day difference. even more so when i updated to a 07+ 2500/3500HD P/S pump.
at my other job the penny pinchers don’t want to spring for GM P/S fluid so i run the Fram P/S fluid from AAP. it’s clear like the GM stuff and makes the systems act like new.
for the Honda’s i use the Fram honda P/S fluid as hondas don’t play well with normal fluids.
regardless, i think dedicated P/S fluid is better than a transmission fluid as transmission fluid is a heavily engineer fluid designed to reduce friction in some instances while increasing it in others. YMWV.
Toyota and Subaru, just to name a couple. Steering systems requiring a fluid is becoming rare in my area.Many manf. specified ATF or PSF for their power steering units.
is it a HD model? if so the hydroboost will get the fluid hot quickly. i remember coming the mountains in colorado and having the system start to groan when braking/turning. a quick and easy upgrade is to grab a OEM replacement (Dorman) HD model power steering cooler and route it in the return side. it’s a bolt up job.Any idea why a power steering system would have any issue with ATF vs PS?
I have dex6 in my 05 Silverado PS and it's been flawless and quiet even in the well below freezing weather this week.
I did have issues with it in the past. Before I bought from my employer I thought the pump was failing - it would lose some assist at times. Can't remember if I changed it before owning it or not....at one point I put cheap PS fluid in as I planned to change it again shortly after.....while it was in there I was trying to back up a heavy lift platform in my father in law's yard and overheated it and lost all power steering for a bit. I changed the fluid with ATF of some kind and the problem went away.
It's now been years since I had an issue and I changed it with Dexron 6 a couple years ago.
No just a 1500 no hydro boost. It was a unique situation with lots of steering with little to no backward movement. Original 270k mile PS system.is it a HD model? if so the hydroboost will get the fluid hot quickly. i remember coming the mountains in colorado and having the system start to groan when braking/turning. a quick and easy upgrade is to grab a OEM replacement (Dorman) HD model power steering cooler and route it in the return side. it’s a bolt up job.
you could probably pick-a-part for near nothing, would help extend service life on the pump.No just a 1500 no hydro boost. It was a unique situation with lots of steering with little to no backward movement. Original 270k mile PS system.
If I had to use it that way regularly I would add a cooler. I've added a good auxiliary trans cooler years ago and it's probably extended the life of the 4L60E significantly.
If you watch the "car care nut" on YT, he says it is Idemitsu PSF. I can say it sure looks the same and is what I use for Toyota PSF. No issues with 50k+ miles of using it. Specifically about color, it goes in looking like honey, comes out a little closer to maple syrup.Thanks - been a while since I even looked. I think I went AMSOIL just so it would be clear and not red, allowing me to see if it was getting dirty. The OEM fill was clear, so, I wonder what, exactly, Toyota puts in there…