by Bull6791, September 10, 2013
Members,
At 83,000 miles on my 05 corolla I never changed my power steering fluid. I know it's not hard to change. Just siphon fluid out of resivor and then refill with new fluid.
At this point should I change fluid or not. I just do not want to create any problems.
Let me know anybody's feelings
Thanks Frank
If you have the time and something to siphon out - just do it whenever you have a spare moment. Pretty hard to create problems with this sort of service, unless you accidentally drop something you shouldn't have into the reservoir - of the siphon back flushes debris back into the reservoir. Use the stuff indicated on the cap - I believe it says Dexron ATF. Toyota sells ATF without the red dye for power steering applications. If you use regular red Dexron ATF - will work just as well - just looks funny in the reservoir (end up with a weird color mix).
If you don't want to mess with that - should be OK as well. 83K miles is really pretty low, in the grand scheme of things - unless the oil is heavily discolored or you notice steering issues - wait until you get time to do a reservoir fluid exchange.
Also easy enough to do a full flush as well - though could get a little messy - a lot easier if you have an extra set of hands to help out.
Fish
Now I am going to change my power steering fluid by siphoning out the whole reservoir completely using a turkey Baster.
After I put new fluid in just drive or turn wheel from lock to lock. Another post said turn wheel from lock to lock.
After I do this when should I do it again in 3,000 miles or 30,000miles.
How long do it take for the new fluid to go through the whole system.
When I put the new fluid in where should I set the fluid level at. I though to max cold level. Just a guess. I do not know
I am going with siphon method just for the fact that I think it is easier than the flush.
Also I never did this before and I do not think it would hurt. Just another thing to help take care of car
Thanks Frank
I just drain the reservoir in a bucket by pulling out the return hose over suspension control arm after jacking up the front and removing right wheel. Then, pull hose from reservoir and plug the fitting. Keep filling reservoir with new fluid while turning steering lock to lock a few times until it comes out clean from rack&pinion return line. Reconnect return hose and top off reservoir. I do it completely with one quart.
New fluid level at max cold fill. Make sure to work the steering back a forth after siphoning it out - to get fresh fluid in there. Or follow the flush procedure that dom wrote up - little more involved, but you'll get all the old fluid out. Then don't have to worry about it for 30K-60K miles - depending on conditions. The key in doing any maintenance - is sizing the job to what you feel comfortable in doing. Once you get some basic DIY jobs under your belt, you'll naturally progress to more advanced tasks. That point - you'll be pretty shocked by how much you can actually do yourself on the car and the potential cost savings/knowing that you did the job right.
Fish
Thanks again for power steering info I appreciate it. I am going to start changing my power steering fluid every 30k.
After I siphon out old fluid then add new fluid I will drive car around to circulate fluid. Now how many times should I repeat process to dilute old fluid with new fresh fluid. Maybe it's up to ones own discretion
Thanks
Frank
Like Fish mentioned; To get it all out, follow dom's procedure...
It all drains out under gravitational pull, as you keep adding new fluid to prevent pump and rack from ingesting more air than neccessary. Turning steering lock to lock with front jacked up off the ground and engine turned off, assists in fully flushing the rack and speeds up draining process... Any air is then released from fluid by turning steering lock to lock with engine idling. Stop engine and top off to the full cold mark. Check level again after first drive and complete cooldown.
