[R.C.]

Hello All,

Did a search but couldn't find an answer but has anyone done a power steering flush themselves?

I have a 99 Taurus with a Duratec engine. Can any one provide me with some details as to the procedure in doing so such as which hose to detach etc, etc.

Thanks for any help suggested.

 

[talshiar]

EH, I just bought a couple quarts of fluid. Used a turkey baster to suck out as much as I could. Filled it back up. Drove around. Lather. Rinse. Repeat; until it is to a color you like.
Not the most efficent way but easy and does do a flush of fluid that may other wise remain after a drain.

 

[alex_perry]

don't use normal power steering fluid, grab some type-f transmission fluid.

here's a link for some good instructions.
http://www.v8sho.com/SHO/psflush.htm

 

[talshiar]

What's type-f?

 

[shoz123]

Use sythetic ATX fluid.

Has this been posted twice?

 

[00Taurus]

I've used the turkey baster method myself in an olds I have. (1985 Regency 98 with 26,000 original miles on it!!--my deceased aunt's car & it's for sale...) Yes, buy some dextron III automatic trans fluid. That's what Ford says to use for power steering fluid, at least in my gen 4....

 

[93taurusSX]

Does the Mercon III Tranny fluid apply to us Gen2 folk? I just realized I'm nearing that 20k mark when I need to have the P/S fluid changed...

 

[qwertz9586]

It's not Mercon III. It's regular Mercon (I) slash Dexron III. You should only use Mercon/Dexron 3 in the G2s. Mercon V will not mix well with regular Mercon.

 

[shoz123]

He's talking about the PS..

Do yourself a favor and get some synthetic ATX fluid. You will not have to flush it again if done right.

 

[sixfofalcon]

When I installed the Magnefine on my PS line, it just so happened to be the lowest point in the PS line. So now all I need to do is remove the filter, and about .75 qt or so dumps out, draining the PS pump and part of the PS line. My fluid was pretty clean when I did this at 55K, and I refilled it with Mobil 1 ATF, so I should be good to go for quite some time. It doesn't change the fluid in the rack, but since my fluid hasn't gotten nasty yet, that's not really necessary.

 

[Blue Vulcan]

I had good results using the turkey baster method too. I thought my PS on my high mileage Taurus was toast until I flushed it this way. It drives like brand new and the fluid is clean now.

 

[93taurusSX]

About how many quarts of ATX fluid would it take to change out the fluid using the turkey baster method? The ground is still cold for me to go lie on my back for a couple of minutes...

Oh yeah, so any type of synthetic ATX fluid will be fine for the P/S system of a Gen2 then right?

 

[talshiar]

I bought 1 quart. Refilled it twice (you cant get it all out) and I have about 1/4 quart left. I still plan to remove and refill a few more times until it is pretty clear. I would assume 2 quarts should do fine.
I have a Gen 2 also.

 

[Guest]

Since I plan to do a flush on my car, I thought I would post the directions on my Ford service CD. (This is for a 2001 model, probably the same for others, but I can't guarantee that )

 

[Guest]

I was only able to get ~1/2 pint out of my reservoir with the baster method... Vulcan have different PS pumps that 'tecs and SHO's though, don't they? :blink:

 

[spinoza]

I changed my ps pump not long ago. I flushed the system by cranking the pump by hand (going in the proper direction, of course!). It worked like a charm. One comment I would make about flushing any hydraulic system (p.s., brakes, clutch) is that if you have trouble with air in the fluid, take a break and do something else before continuing. This allows the air to collect and can ease your flushing chore. You end up not using as much fluid.

 

[holedigger]

Originally posted by jason8225@Feb 8 2005, 04:25 PM
I was only able to get ~1/2 pint out of my reservoir with the baster method...  Vulcan have different PS pumps that 'tecs and SHO's though, don't they?  :blink:

I had to baste 5 times to change 1L of fluid. It took 2 weeks because the thing needed time to absorb the new fluid from the reservoir. If I did it too soon, I would suck out mostly the new, red fluid.

This is a really inefficient way to do it. And since you are always mixing new fluid with old, you will never get it all out.

 

[Guest]

Originally posted by holedigger+Feb 8 2005, 11:12 PM--><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (holedigger @ Feb 8 2005, 11:12 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-jason8225@Feb 8 2005, 04:25 PM
I was only able to get ~1/2 pint out of my reservoir with the baster method...  Vulcan have different PS pumps that 'tecs and SHO's though, don't they?  :blink:

I had to baste 5 times to change 1L of fluid. It took 2 weeks because the thing needed time to absorb the new fluid from the reservoir. If I did it too soon, I would suck out mostly the new, red fluid.

This is a really inefficient way to do it. And since you are always mixing new fluid with old, you will never get it all out. [/b][/quote]
Makes sense, but it's probably the laziest way to do it.

I'll keep at it over the next week or so and see how the fluid looks. The stuff I pulled out today looked really bad and it's only got 64k miles on it. I have 2 quarts of ATF to flush with, after I get these two through it, I will start flushing with a synthetic ATF.