Woah, T-Bird killing the PS fluid?

[Tremo]

I just checked the PS fluid in my 88 year old Mom's 92 T-Bird yesterday. Not what I expected. The car is a 92, but it has only 42k miles on the clock, she drives less than 2k per year, short trips, and the car lives in a closed garage. That PS oil was BLACK and very nasty looking and smelled bad. I got out the old turkey baster and sucked out the pump, refilled it with Chevron Dex3/Merc, and started the engine. Turned the wheel lock to lock a few times, then shut it down. Again, turkey bastered out the pump and repeat. I did that 3 times. The oil is still black. Next time i visit, I will do it a couple more times, and keep it up until the oil is more red than black.

But what the heck? Should PS oil turn that nasty in only 42k miles of old lady driving? I'm afraid to look at the transmission fluid now. I think next time she drives it up here, it should be pan drop and new filter time.

 

[Thermactor]

quote:

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Originally posted by Tremo:
Should PS oil turn that nasty in only 42k miles of old lady driving?

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Not to be offensive or anything, but "old lady driving" is not much better for the car than "teenage punk driving"

You can expect her to be using the PS system in a manner that would wear it out quickly, such as turning the wheel while stopped, holding it at lock, and so on.

 

[Mike_dup1]

The method you are using will never completely clean out the system no more than taking out a qt of oil from your engine will ever result in a oil change. The system has to be professionly flushed to be certain all fluid is purged and new is installed. Often that requires wasting fluid during the flush. If it still turns black they may be other problems in the system that need addressing.

 

[Kestas]

I agree. For all the turkey bastering you're doing, you should go the extra mile, give it a flush, and be done with it.

 

[unDummy]

Use a synthetic ATF that can take the heat of a PS system.

I've had no problema switching from clear to red power steering fluid and back, with the siphon/refill method.
I don't care for the hassle of pulling PS lines, especially when they are old. A couple siphon/refills a couple times a year goes a long way.

I haven't seen too many reservoirs that allow you to reach the bottom. I've extended my siphon hose by attaching a 'basketball filler' swiped from the tire air compressor.

On some cars, where you can actually see the return of the fluid, you can place your hose on the return side and drain the power steering fluid with the vehicle running. But, you'll need to constantly add fluid.

 

[bdcardinal]

thats very common on all Fords that use that PS pump. most 5.0 mustangs have a groaning sound from the PS pump as well as every Aerostar made. when i worked at a ford dealer it was a great money maker, because we would replace the pump, all lines and steering rack and the noise would go away long enough for the repair to be out of warrenty. there is a company that sells a GM pump with a ford bracket and pulley that gets rid of the noise. i definately recommend flushing the fluid almost every year regardless of mileage with a synthetic ATF.

 

[Tremo]

Yeah, now that you mention it, those Ford pumps do groan a lot. The old Escort made noise, the Wife's Taurus makes noise, as does Mom's T-Bird. Looks like the same exact pump.

My 88 Camaro is still on it's OEM pump, with over 160k on it, and it still works and doesn't make much noise. But the hoses do seep a bit, where the rubber part mates with the metal connectors on the ends (the high pressure supply hose). Is that hose hard to replace?

 

[bdcardinal]

not sure, ive always just bought complete lines and replaced everything. working on cars for a living, ive learned that its easier to just replace a complete part, and the customer saves on labor.

 

[Kestas]

Tremo, there are many shops around that can repair hydraulic lines. They usually take everything apart, reuse the ends with new hose and ferrules, and crimp the ends. I imagine this would be cheaper than buying a new hose. Check your yellow pages.

 

[brianl703]

quote:

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Originally posted by bdcardinal:
most 5.0 mustangs have a groaning sound from the PS pump

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It doesn't seem to have any effect on the longetivity of the pump. The one on my 1988 Mustang 5.0 has been groaning since I got it with 116K miles, now it has 172K miles. I ran Auto-RX through it (helped in cold-weather startup so the steering wasn't as stiff) and changed the fluid with Dexron/Mercon instead of Type F. Neither of things helped the groaning, though.

 

[black thunder]

the pump on my explorer makes such a whine, people think its turbocharged

 

[punisher]

Those old C3 Ford pumps are a bit noisy after they wear a bit. As the vanes and the pump body wear the ridges cause cavitation in the fluid. The whine isn't really a major mechanical problem, it is just annoying.

Ford has/had a TSB about applying a vacuum to the pump reservoir to pull any excess air bubbles out of the fluid. Low pressure= bigger bubbles that float free before they get sucked back into the pump intake.

 

[Tremo]

When I flushed the fluid in my Camaro, I guess when I refuilled it was full of bubbles, because the pump made a lot of noise for the first couple days until the bubbles worked their way out. Now it's quiet again.

Strange, the fluid in Mom's T-Bird with only 42k on it was so black and bad looking, yet the fluid in the wife's Taurus with 92k miles was still nice and red. I'm doing the turkey baster on the Taurus on every engine oil change.