Power steering fluid

[trev260764]

I was watching 'Wheeler Dealers' the other night and Ed was replacing the fluid for the power steering (BMW 325 I think), he simply undid the union on the rack and allowed the fluid to drain. After replacing the union he topped up the fluid, turned the steering wheel lock-to-lock a couple of times, and that was it...

Is the procedure as simple on my S2? My steering is a little 'lumpy' - guess some new fluid wouldn't harm!

Oh. Am I the only one to think that guy Ed is actually OK - and the fat bloke Mike is a bit of a c0ck?

 

[robwright]

Yes it is that simple. Like any oil change you will never get rid of all of it. For your S2 it should be the same as my turbo. On the power steering pump there is a drain plug. Or if you prefer undo the bottom of the two banjo bolts (19mm). Run the engine and turn the steering lock to lock several times. Obviously catch any oil that you dump. Refit the banjo bolt. I would advise fitting new copper washers to both banjo bolts the bootom one on the pump (19mm) and the top one on the pump (22mm) at around 50 p each. Refill the resevoir to over the full mark and run the engine once again turning lock to lock several times. Once done top up the resevoir to the correct level. Lower the car and repeat with the steering under load. Top up again as necessary. I also removed the pump cleaned and refurbished it with new seals for around £25 for the kit. The difference in the steering after doing all this was amazing. It is now quiet as a mouse and smooth as a babies!!! []

 

[trev260764]

Cheers!

 

[Eldavo]

If you are ever up Newcastle-upon-Tyne way I'll take a look at that orange bonnet for you!

 

[trev260764]

Mmm... Ta! The roof is a bit orangey as well. And the doors. The wings are OK!

 

[trev260764]

What fluid am I using, and where from?

 

[zcacogp]

Well I changed the power steering fluid on my S2 this weekend. Not a hard job. Did it by removing the bottom banjo (17mm, not 19mm as quoted earlier.) Old fluid came out. Black and treacle-y. And stunk to high heaven. Pushed the stering around repeatedly and ran the engine briefly to get all the traces of the old fluid out. New fluid put in (Trev - I used brake fluid, DOT4, I think. New - sealed - bottle of the stuff.) Nice and clean and fine, slight honey colour. And .... I'm not sure it made any difference at all. Possibly fractionally quieter. Possibly fractionally smoother. Admittedlty I have only driven it 'round town since, so nothing too challenging, but it wasn't a night-and-day improvement. Sorry folks. Oli.

 

[sulzeruk]

Oli, I wouldn't be using brake fluid in a power steering steering system. Should be ATF! If your old oil was black and horrible, i would be replacing the seals in the pump. Alasdair

 

[robwright]

Not so sure you should be using brake fluid in your power steering mate. You should really use power steering fluid or combined automatic transmission and power steering fluid. The cherry stuff.

 

[zcacogp]

Feck? Really? Bu99er. Ar5e. F3ck. How p155ing annoying. Thanks for telling me. I can't change it between now and the weekend, so will pencil it in for Saturday morning. Typical - the weekend when my folks are coming to stay as well! I hope that having brake fluid in it for a week (not being driven) won't do it any harm. I guess it won't have to. [] Oli. ETA: I guess I'll have to flush it as well eh? Double-f3ck.

 

[DivineE]

lol brake fluid should clean out the system[] not sure how good it will be for those pump seals.. but there's always a bright side because it should feel lots better once you've done that.

 

[zcacogp]

Yes, the seals are what are worrying me. Hmmm .... I am currently hatching a plan to leave client site a little early this afternoon, pick up some PAS fluid on the way home (on a bicycle, I should add!) and do the job this evening. Sooner has to be better than later. How much damage will it have done? Dunno. There's only one way to find out. Oli.

 

[robwright]

I changed my fluid around 2 or 3 months ago and it did make a big difference but things soon got back to normal!! That's why I overhauled the pump and changed all the copper washers on the banjos. I think the pump was pulling in air and cavitating hence the horrible noises especially when cold. The difference after ovehauling the pump was amazing. Almost like brand new and I am not exagerating!! The kits are available from Porsche Shop. It seems a lot of money for what you actually get but I couldn't find another supplier. The pump is relatively simple it is a load of hydro veins a lot like a pneumatic nut gun just be careful not to drop them all over the workshop floor when you are doing it DOH!!! Wish I had took some pics and posted a technical article. Hinesight eh!!

 

[xenon]

ORIGINAL: zcacogp Yes, the seals are what are worrying me. Hmmm .... I am currently hatching a plan to leave client site a little early this afternoon, pick up some PAS fluid on the way home (on a bicycle, I should add!) and do the job this evening. Sooner has to be better than later. How much damage will it have done? Dunno. There's only one way to find out. Oli.

I can't imagine you've done any harm whatsoever but I'd get the proper stuff in asap. GL

 

[zcacogp]

OK, changed over. Again. Or, more accurately, drained, half-filled with the proper stuff (ATF), run for a short time whilest turning the steering wheel repeatedly from side to side, drained again and refilled with the proper stuff, and again run while turning the steering wheel from side to side. I'm not confident I've got all the brake fluid out. I am confident that there is only a small amount left in there (I'm imagining that there are a LOT of small spaces to drain in a power steering system). And I'll probably drain and refill it again within a month or so to get that small amount out. Not a great job to do - jacking a car on the street, in the dark while it is raining, on a cold evening isn't my idea of fun. Still, my fault. Purely out of interest, how different are brake fluid and ATF? They are both hydraulic fluids, and are both designed to do a similar job. I can appreciate that they probably have a different set of additives (detergents and the like) and therefore could be significantly more or less caustic, but the base product would be fairly similar I'd guess. I am also told that DOT4 gets more caustic as it gets older, so the fact that I put fresh new stuff in the system will mean it could be worse ... fingers crossed for those seals and hoses, eh? (Thanks for your encouragement Ian!) Oh, and I took it for a (1/2 mile) test drive once I had finished the job and I'm still not convinced it's significantly much lighter or smoother than before ... [] Oli.

 

[xenon]

Nice job at the side of the road. I don't know the exact difference between ATF and brake fluid but, working as I do in a major hydraulics manufacturer (although I personally know virtually nothing of the science), I often overhear the designers comparing merits of various hydraulics oils and glycols and I know there is significant differences in fluids that essentially do the same thing. Brake fluid has a higher boiling point but (perhaps) will attack nitrile seals found in a power steeering system. From what I can gather, it's all about the seals. [] Also, the viscosity is different as you no doubt noticed.

 

[Eldavo]

Since doing mineive found that the low speed noises have gone and the action seems smoother, could be placebo affect on the smoothness but my ears don't lie!

 

[wibble]

Interesting thread - suppose another job on the to-do-list. Maybe it will banish banshee in my steering rack when reversing!