does power steering fluid "circulate" in reservoir

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Oct 21, 2015
Messages
366
Location
Colorado
Hi all:

Does anyone know if power steering fluid "circulates" within the reserovir such that it is turned over with the rest of the fluid in the system? The reason I ask, is that I would like to refresh the fluid by removing the contents of the reservoir with a turkey baster and then fill it with fresh. But I didn't know if that would do anything and if the fluid in the reservoir is more or less stagnant and I wouldn't be accomplishing anything. I know that a true flush involves removing hoses and the like but I was hoping to avoid that by using this technique, driving the car, and then performing it again. The dealer did do a complete flush a few years ago and I just want to stay on top of this maintenance item.

Thanks
 
Yes, PSF does circulate. The turkey baster method is a simple way to freshen up the fluid from time-to-time. I prefer it to line flushing since I don't like messing with old clamps and hoses.
 
Last edited:
Yep! TB is a fantastic way to do it. Since the dealer did a complete flush recently, just empty and refill the reservoir periodically and never worry.

What interval, you ask? Back when I had hydraulic power steering I would do a 2x drain and refill (about a week in between) every 50000 miles.
 
If the dealer did it a few years ago, you will be fine with Kuato's advice.

With neglected systems, I find myself using at least a quart and/ or until the fluid is clear.
 
I have used the turkey baster method on my Camaro every spring since it was new, using Royal Purple Max EZ fluid.
Still have the original rack in it at 260k miles, and the power steering still works fine.
 
It sure does. I did a hoses off flush of the power steering fluid in my car. Turning the wheel lock to lock it went through almost a gallon of PS fluid in about 30 seconds. I estimate the flow rate to be 1.75 gallons per minute.
 
Originally Posted By: Poohbah
How about brake fluid? Will the turkey baster method work for that too?
It's good to use when flushing the entire system. You would remove the gunky stuff in the master cylinder rather than pump it through the system. But brake fluid does not circulate through the system
 
If the lines allow it, you can find out which is feed and which is return, stick the feed into about a gallon of fluid, and the return into a waste bucket. DIY PS flush.
 
I have used the TB method of getting rid of old ps fluid in the reservoir one of my yearly maintenance items for years. Works great.
 
I TB out a $7 - 1 qt bottle of PS fluid every year in each car. An especially good idea for those cars w/o a power steering cooler.
 
Thanks folks. I think I will do this every year or two and TB out a reservoir or two with a quick drive in between.

So of the fluids in our car, this seems to be the one that is the most dynamic, eh? SHOZ pointed out that brake fluid in the reservoir is pretty stagnant and probably only draws if there is a leak. I think coolant is also pretty stagnant in its reservoir but does seem to increase or decrease during temperature cycling so I suppose it does see some fluid from the bulk of the system. If I were to open the power steering reservoir, I wonder if you could see it circulating while turning the wheel.
 
Yes it is a pretty fast and turbulent flow into the bottle. They usually have a baffle or some other arrangement to keep the incoming oil away from the pickup.

I have an old one off my Accent I was thinking of cutting in half.
 
I don't use the turkey baster method, but I do use a hand vacuum pump to change out PS fluid in the reservoir. I do my semi trucks that way every spring snd fall. Never had a PS fluid related problem in my lifetime, which included taking several semi trucks over 1 million miles. My personal vehicles, they get the procedure roughly once a year.
 
When I pump out my PS reservoir, about 12 oz comes out. Perfect because I get Prestone PS fluid in 12oz bottles at Walmart for $1.97. I do this 3-4 times a year on my escalade.
 
It's absolutely, constantly recirculating. I tried the turkey baster (I also needed a vinyl hose) method on my Subaru. The factory fluid was some sort of amber color, but the replacement is supposed to be either Dexron or Subaru ATF. When I did it, I could see the fluids sort of mixing, which didn't take very long before it was a uniform color. I've also taken off the cap a few times on one car's PSF reservoir, and I could see the fluid sort of forming a vortex like water going down the drain.

Still - the recommended method is almost always to remove the return hose and squeeze almost all the PSF out. I've done that on a few Honda cars, and it seems like it's being damaged, but the residual fluid should be enough to keep it from destroying itself. Most systems self-purge themselves of air pretty quickly.
 
If it has easy to release hoses on the cooler loop the system will usually drain itself 95%. One time I tried to do it when it was running and went through a gallon in no time. Capped it all up and two weeks later it was just as dirty. Since then it's just drain the system at the cooler and refill.
 
Originally Posted By: SHOZ
If it has easy to release hoses on the cooler loop the system will usually drain itself 95%. One time I tried to do it when it was running and went through a gallon in no time. Capped it all up and two weeks later it was just as dirty. Since then it's just drain the system at the cooler and refill.

I don't know of any vehicles where a power steering flush is a scheduled maintenance item. There are plenty of vehicles that are doing fine with dark fluid and over 100K on the odometer. I did it because I thought it would be a good thing to do, but I can't really tell any difference after I've done it.
 
I think PS fluids are much better than they use to be.

The particular car I had was a '93 Ford Taurus SHO with who knows how many miles. The fluid was black as coal so I flushed it. Turned back real fast, I ended up flushing with Walmart atf every three days, then week, then month until it stayed red. Then put in some synthetic atf.

My Accent I have with 150k on it the fluid looked good, the typical Hyundai blue/green.

My GenCoupe requires Pentosin CHF 202 for some reason. Kind of expensive at $25 a Liter.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top