bruce7

DIY - Changing the Power Steering Fluid

This is a follow-on to my original DIY on replacing a leaking power steering line
that can be found here:

https://rennlist.com/forums/993-foru...ring-line.html

In this DIY I’m just going to cover changing the fluid. I’ve found a way to make
it more simple and less potentially messy.

What I found was that the usual method of using a funnel, pouring in the fluid
and then checking the level on the dipstick was too funky. That is mainly due to
the location of the fluid reservoir.

So what I did was figure out exactly how much the fluid reservoir holds (the
owner’s manual does not say) and then calibrate a bottle widely available for
that amount. And then fit a pour dispenser to eliminate the long neck funnel
previously required.

So here’s the procedure in pictures.

Get one liter of power steering fluid.



Remove the air filter cover and the oil dipstick for access and clearance.



Extract the old fluid to a waste container. I use a fluid pump called the Phoenix
Injector. You may have seen this before as I use it to do brake system flushing.



Fill a 330 ml FIJI water bottle with fresh fluid to the fill mark indicated in the
photo. This will be 300 ml of fluid. Fit a bottle pour dispenser.



This is what the pour dispenser looks like.



Pour the fresh fluid into the reservoir. Might want to place a rag under the
bottle just in case although I didn’t leak any during use.




Don’t worry about any fluid left in the bottle, that has been accounted for. When
using a pour dispenser there is always a little liquid left in the bottle.

Check the level on the dipstick and it should be right at the top mark.

One can of fluid will allow you to change the fluid 3 times. My change procedure
is to change once. Drive a couple of days then change again. Do the final change
and you are done.

I would use a fresh FIJI bottle each time. The 330 ml size is sold in 6 packs only.
I got mine at Target.

XavierLaFlamme

Thanks for this DIY. I am doing this very soon. Good timing!
--Michael

nine9six

Thank you Bruce! Yet another timely DIY.

bobbyp

Thanks - another great project for those of us just getting into the DIY process.

bruce7

Thank you Michael! Let me know how it goes.

Your welcome Paul!

Yes, this is a pretty easy one to get started with. It's one of those things
that I think tends to be forgotten. I'm afraid I went 4 years and 60k miles
since the last change. I need to remember to do it more often.

-bruce7

kjr914

I like the ingenuity and use of readily available parts! But the real question: What was the most expensive part of the DIY, the Pentosin 202 or the 6 pack of FIJI water?

Mike J

Nice! I do it slightly different, use a big syringe to get most of the fluid out, then undo the line to the tank and drain it into a shallow container. If careful, no mess. I also sometimes just undo the retaining clamp to the tank, tilt it over to drain into a container. Then just use a long funnel to refill.

I am also thinking of doing this another way which may be more complete flush the first time - undo the lines at the steering rack and put them on a drain, then I turn the engine over (DME relay pulled) and that should pump more fluid out of the system into the container. Put the lines back and refill. On a lift it would be pretty easy ..

Nice work!

Cheers,

Mike

bruce7

LOL, yeah I had to pick the most expensive water bottle for a high-end car!
The thing I like about the FIJI bottle is the square bottom makes it stable.
The others tend to fall over if you're not careful.

Thanks Mike! A complete flush would be nice. This way is more like how the
oil change is done with some old fluid left in the system diluting the fresh fluid
just added. I have been lucky so far with 122k miles on the car to not have
any steering rack problems like some have reported.