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  #1  
Old 06-13-2005, 11:22 AM
Jayahalasi
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power steering problem

ok let me run you guys through whats happened

1. had to replace o-ring as it was mostly melted, took everything apart matched up to the o-ring, put back together and replaced with dexron III ATF per the guide i was using.

now this is either a bad idea to use this fluid or atleast it was a bad idea to mix it with whatever remaining fluid i had, because it really F'ed up my power steering.

2. So I drained ALL the fluid out and replaced it with STP power steering fluid.

3. now my powersteering fluid looks like milky white water (was clear fluid before)


what did i do wrong?
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  #2  
Old 06-13-2005, 11:42 AM
lee lee is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Indialantic, Florida
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jayahalasi
ok let me run you guys through whats happened

1. had to replace o-ring as it was mostly melted, took everything apart matched up to the o-ring, put back together and replaced with dexron III ATF per the guide i was using.

now this is either a bad idea to use this fluid or atleast it was a bad idea to mix it with whatever remaining fluid i had, because it really F'ed up my power steering.

2. So I drained ALL the fluid out and replaced it with STP power steering fluid.

3. now my powersteering fluid looks like milky white water (was clear fluid before)


what did i do wrong?

Milky white seems to me to imply air in the system. I'm not sure how to bleed the system, but that is my guess
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  #3  
Old 06-13-2005, 12:59 PM
Jayahalasi
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weird thing is now i checked it and it looked fine, low but fine

put about 20 oz. of fluid in and looks fine

drove it.... still fine
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  #4  
Old 06-13-2005, 02:25 PM
kuoh kuoh is offline
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The SVX's PS system is designed to use ATF fluid, NOT power steering fluid. I don't know what the long term damage would be, but I would suggest draining all of it, not just what's in the reservoir and refill with AFT and maybe repeating the process a couple of times to flush out as much power steering fluid as possible.

KuoH
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  #5  
Old 06-20-2005, 10:01 AM
Jayahalasi
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when i had ATF in it it was VEYR hard to steer almost like i had no power steering what so ever. now this may have been from mixing it with some remaining PS fluid in the line... but i haven't had any trouble turning with straight PS fluid.
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  #6  
Old 06-20-2005, 01:38 PM
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Beav Beav is offline
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Significant Technical Input
As a 'rule of thumb' p/s fluid can replace ATF in power steering but ATF cannot be used in place of p/s fluid. ATF has a great deal of friction modifiers, etc. whereas p/s fluid is a basic hydraulic oil. Some systems contain somewhat softer aluminum parts and the friction modifiers can/will cause premature wear. Also the seals may take a toll as well.

Probably the reason for the increased assist was that your old fluid was burnt/dirty (read: loss of viscosity due to thermal break-down.) I routinely do a handful of p/s flushes each week and it is easy to notice the decrease in effort as the fluid is replaced. The system we use sucks out the old fluid and inserts a flush solution. This process is repeated several times with a cycling of the steering wheel lock-to-lock between each drain and refill. This ensures total removal and cleaning of the components. After the flush solution is finished the process is repeated, this time replacing the flush with fresh fluid, again several times with cycling lock-to-lock. A simple drain and refill is better than nothing but nowhere as good or complete. You should see the nasty fluid I remove from older systems.
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