bhensarl

I posted a question as to what type of fluid to use in our power steering systems a few months ago, and after re-reading that thread I'm still very confused. The owner's manual says Dexron I. Adrian's book says Dexron II or Dexron III. I'm assuming these two suggestions of Adrian's are compatible with the suggestion by the manual. However, these are all automatic transmission fluids, not power steering fluids, correct? Today I purchased some Valvoline SynPower power steering fluid but I'm not putting anything in until I'm confident that I'm not going to destroy my system. Looking at Adrian's book again it seems that synthetic automatic transmission fluids are a very bad idea. Can someone explain the difference between auto tranny fluid and power steering fluid and direct me toward which to use, please. Thank you.
Brian

bhensarl

Alright sounds like a plan. The bottle of "power steering fluid" I bought says Dexron nowhere on it, so it's back to the auto parts store for some ATF that does. Thanks for the tip, Indy.
Brian

Adrian

The Porsche power steering system of the 964 uses the same specification oil (read the owners manual) as Automatic transmissions of the time.
This oil is mineral based.
Ciao,
Adrian.

springer3

Brian:

Dexron II and Dexron III are backward compatible - they pass the specs for Dexron I as well. Use without fear.

bhensarl

I did read the manual, that's why I was so confused. To quote, page 61 "The power steering system uses hydraulic power to boost manual steering effort..." Hmmm, still confused. And page 109 in the Filling Capacities section, "Power Steering...........Approx. 1.06 US qts. or 1.0 liter ATF Dexron." Okay, so at this point I know the word "Dexron" is important, but I was still confused. So I went to your book. Page 258, "The hydraulic fluid used in the power steering system is not the same as the hydraulic fluid used in the brake system. It is not engine oil either... Porsche 964 wiht power steering..... Dexron II, Dexron III".
I did my homework, but it still wasn't clear to me what was going on. That's why I'm so glad I have this place.
Brian