power steering fluid

133756 Views 57 Replies 25 Participants Last post by jkowtko, Feb 11, 2022

smithrmark

Discussion Starter · Jun 28, 2010

just got back from the steelership and the mech said that my power steering fluid is dirty and that it would cost 120 cad to replace it.

now heres the story i went into that same dealership for my oil change 3 months prior to this and the mech did not say anything about changing the power steering fluid at that time. advance to now and all os a sudden my power steering fluid is dirty and i need to change it.

what gives i never had to chage the power steering fluid on any of my cars now at 80 000km on my sienna i need to chage it. something does not add up right.

However i do get power steering pump noise when the fluid is cold up here in canada let say from anywere from 5c and below i can hear my pump pushing the fluid until it get warmed up.

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Rojeda1217

· #37 · May 3, 2020

I have recently did the poor mans flush.i baught a gallon of fluid that the dealership sells for the sienna.I have an 04. I jacked the front up off the ground amd put stands on the sides of the van. I Stuffed 2 rags at the bottom of the resavoirI pulled the smaller hose off the resavoir and had a soup can collect all the fluid out. I capped the resavoirs small side with a pipe cap and electrical tape(was generous with tape)
I then took the hose coming off of it,slipped in a 1/2 inch shark bite brass cupling for pex, took a 3/4 I.d. hose I had laying around,connected to that power steering hose to a vented milk gallon(vented as in 2 holes poked at the top of the milk gallon).i filled the resavoir almost to the top(past hot max )went in the van,(without starting the van)turned the wheel all the way to the left and right,got out the van and refilled the resavoir with fresh fluid. I did this procedure at least several times before the fluid became hydrated piss yellow.put the hose back on the resavoir, refilled to cold max,went back in the van.turned left to right 5 times,went back out,filled it back up to cold max.went back and did 2. 10 set turns left to right before the air stopped.I started the van up after getting it off the stands and on the ground. After the belt squealed and moaned for a split second, it was quieter than what it was.hopefullly after driving it for a while it will get quieter.The picture is the old fluid.

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Rojeda1217

· #39 · May 4, 2020

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Rojeda1217

· #40 · May 4, 2020

The dealership was selling me the much smaller bottles over the years. When the mechanic changed the rack the last time I went to the dealer because my previous rack had type 4 used to fill and shook during turning.eventually seals went and started to leak everywhere.the dealer sold this to me telling me thats the fluid the sienna uses.when the rack was replaced, I used the johnsen's and had no issue.the pump started making noise after mechanic changed the high pressure hose(it was made in a hydraulics shop. I think the hose might be defective maybe because i never had that noise before)that fluid is supposed to be clear and it came out like that

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Rojeda1217

· #41 · May 4, 2020

jkowtko said:
You have a 2004 Sienna? What does it say on the PS reservoir cap? I found three manuals for the 2004 model year ... all say to use Dexron II/III (Dexron ATF). I don't think clear/yellow fluid is Dexron ATF ... however the "dirty" fluid you took out (the left bottle in your pic I assume?) does appear to look more like Dexron ...

What does the label on the bottle the dealership sold you say?

It says dextron at the bottom in small letters.

When I baught my van in 2016.she had clear fluid in the resavoir.i remember when I started topping it off when the rack was leaking in june 2017,I used Lucas type3.when the rack was chamged first that month,type 4 was used to fill up whatever the system didnt have.drove fine but always had a shake when you turned it left to right.5 to 6 months laternovember 2017,rack started clunking and leaking from the seals.it was switched out and the Johnsens from the dealership was used to fill the system.since then until recently,high pressure hose swapped and jonsens fluid was used.

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Rojeda1217

· #50 · May 14, 2020

200 miles later. No leaks so far. Fluid still clear.Surprising the resavoir stopped leaking. Steering wheel smooth as can be. Pump still noisy. So far so good. I will continue to keep checking

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Rojeda1217

· #52 · Oct 17, 2020

5 months all good so far with the clear.

This is my youtube video of the sound

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Rojeda1217

· #53 · Oct 17, 2020

I think i will switch to atf3 eventually. Maybe it possibly the issue? The thickness of the fluid

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Rojeda1217

· #55 · Oct 17, 2020

Yea im using the jonsens clear power steering fluid that I was getting at toyota. One of these days I'll flush out for some dextron type 3. The lower toned noise is only when I turn the wheel at a stop . the higher noise is on when the car is in drive or neutral. This high toned whine started after changing the high pressure power steering hose. There might have been some old lucas atf 3 and 4 originally before the change out. I have been replacing the atf with the dealer recomnended stuff after my new rack started to leak from everywhere with using dextron type 4. Topped it off with type 3 for a while until I had it changed again and used the dealer stuff, the Johnsens . No issues. The high pressure hose went bad, changed out and the noise started. The hose was custom from a hydraulic shop instead of going with a toyota one.

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