gp1817

how do you go about flushing the steering fluid,this is what i think has to be done....drain the fluid best you can,refill,turn steering lock to lock to get any air out few times,fill as needed,repeat this..if this correct...am i missing something

Kik

You can keep refilling the PS tank and go lock to lock as you state. It will take about 3 quarts to get nice pink fluid, or you can pull the return line at the bottom of pump and drain from there, as you drain and go lock to lock, be sure to try and keep the res full. You don't want to introduce air into the system if you can help it. Doing it this way should only cost you about 1/2 quart of fluid at the most. You may also have to replace the O-ring on the return line at the pump if it gets ripped or damaged.

gp1817

Thanks.....i just did the refill....its not perfect pink..but alot pinker then it was

texascion2

i realize Im reviving an old post but its for the better of the People

so i took my car to PepBoys here in houston,tx and had them do a power pump steering flush, and a brake fluid flush and refill. i checked to make sure things were actually done (ive seen quick lube places like this do no work and charge for returning a as is car) anyways things were done to my liking. HOwever MY FLUID ISNT PINK. is that an issue? are all scion steering fluids specifically pink?

Kik

The answer should be in your owners manual, but my 2005 says to use dexron II or III ATF so yeah, it should be pink. If you have clear PS fluid in there, I don't know if it would hurt the seals or not, it might be ok IF they did a complete flush.
It should state on your PS cap what fluid to use also.

bbsciontc

Yea, PS fluid for our cars is a pink (more like red, to me) color. For whatever reason, this fluid gets dark fast. I had to drain and replace my almost black fluid several times before it started showing red again. The reservoir was actually stained black, so I could only tell the color from what was on the dipstick.

undivided

I just used store brand ATF from walmart when I did my poor man's flush. disconnected the return line to the reservoir and let it drain to a bucket. had the car up on jack stands to make it easier to turn the wheel from side to side while cranking the engine over but not allowing it to start (disconnect the coils or something else) and make sure to keep the fluid level topped off as you go thru the motion. this would be very easy with two people! I would flush at least half a gallon thru the system then run for a couple weeks then flush the other half gallon thru if you're really hell bent on getting dirty again

bbsciontc

^ That's the proper way to do it. The lazy man's way (what I did) was to replace only what was in the reservoir and drive it around, repeating 3 or 4 times until the color is a uniform red. The down side is that this never really gets the old stuff out. You're really just diluting it down.

texascion2

I have one but and it also states the same i believe (dont have it on hand) but that doesnt help with the question. The question was regarding the new fluid added to the car after my Pepboys work was done.

Exactly it is clear and i didn't add it otherwise i would of added the ones stated by the manual, so I'm trying to figure out if all of the replacement fluids (after market) are pink or is it just the two stated on the manual. Others that i have seen online seem pink or withing the pink family (darker pink and 1 that was neon pink)

Would be great if you could point to a post or maybe a video that you have found helpful in doing this at home.

when i was looking up info on how to do it, the directions were not very clear, and videos i have seen have far away views that do not allow me to see properly thus not allowing me to feel confident about the work i would be doing if i were to be doing it by myself.

Valuable skill

undivided

your first mistake was letting pep boys touch your car. so you have a choice, learn to do it yourself or live with the thought of maybe they used incorrect fluid that will eventually shorten the life of the components.

if you google power steering flush you'll find tons of guides, walkthrus, videos.
all vehicles have the same basic components connected with rubber style hoses that need disconnecting and reconnecting.

check my post above for what to do. its probably right on par with changing spark plugs in terms of difficulty. best part is you don't have to worry about stripping cylinder head threads!

Kik

Here, here's a video that makes it just about impossible to screw up, if that's what you're afraid of.

undivided

thats a great video good post!