How can I flush the Power Steering fluid?

So I'm getting very sick of the loud whine the Power Steering pump makes. Even at idle, the whine is louder than the engine itself. P/S fluid is fine, and steering seems to work as well as ever.

I've decided to drain all the fluid, add a bottle of that Lucas Oil Power Steering Conditioner, and then add new fluid.

How can I go about this? Where can I drain the existing P/S fluid? Any tips I should know before I attempt this?

From TCCOA.com [ http://tccoa.com/articles/misc/psteering.html ]

The first quart or so I drained looked like Chocolate syrup coming out of the power steering pump....NASTY!!!! It took about 3 quarts of El-Cheapo power steering fluid then 1 quart of Valvoline synthetic and Walla, no more whining and moaning when I turn the wheel. Judging from the color and condition of the old fluid, I'd say if you have high miles and its never been changed. You cant go wrong by doing This. Its cheap, and very easy. It was a little time consuming, but worth it in the long run.


If you are by yourself as I was, you can disconnect the rubber hose that is clamped onto the metal line right below your oil filter and drain from there. Then just push the hose back on without the clamp and fill the pump, start the car and turn the wheel a few times and turn off and drain from that hose again. Repeat that until your fluid comes out as clear as you'd like it to be. Also, you dont necessarily have to put the cap back on the ps-pump every time, that can be a hassle, It will not spray out. DONT start the car without fluid in the pump though. Also keep in mind that if you start the car with that line of, it will "SPRAY" ps fluid out very quickly and messy. The front of the car should actually be raised because you have to get to the line.

Click to expand...

Hope this elps...

Actually that is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you very much.

As a side note, I notice in your sig it says you have a performance chip. How much did that cost? difficulty of install? Serious performance gains?

Edit: I also wanted to check up on something... since this was on tccoa maybe he wrote this about a NA 3.8 or a V8.... would a power steering line still be right below the oil filter?

hmm never thought about that, but I would think if the location is slightly different the procedure should be the same...


As for the chip, it came installed when I bought the car, so I can't compare the car to one without it... Put it this way it doesn't affect the car in a negative way, seems to run fine as is...

Final Reply...

how much Power Steering fluid does the pump hold? Or rather... how much should I buy to be able to flush it though a couple times then fill it?

There was a thread about the PSP noise a few weeks ago. I would do a search on it. <P>Many people experience the same thing, and it seems to be a flaw in certiain pumps....I don't recall tooo many specifics from the replies at the moment, but there were many, just thought you might want to check them out...Tom

I've read all the power steering pump threads recently. I've basically just decided to get it done with and do the job. I recently purhcased some of the lucas oil power steering conditioner, a jug of PS fluid, and i'm going to flush it.

No threads, however, state exactly how to drain the power steering fluid. I'm hoping I dont tap into the wrong line and drain something else! Also, the SC is a bitch to check the level of the fluid, so I wanted to try and find out exactly how much fluid it will take.

The proper way to totally flush the system is as follows:

Jack the car up and support it with jackstands for easy turning of the wheels and access to the hose.

Find the hose that attaches with a hose clamp to the bottom of the reservoir. Trace this hose down to where it attaches to the hard line on the crossmember below the oil filter. Remove the clamp and hose at this point, and drain all fluid from the PS pump into a drain pan.

Attach another piece of 3/8" hose 1 foot or so long, to the hard line and point that hose into your drain pan.

Using a bolt or other such thing, plug the hose that goes back up to the PS pump.

Remove the 30A EEC fuse from the engine compartment fuse holder.

Refill the PS reservoir with new fluid (good grade synthetic is best).

You will need a helper (or two). It works best if you have someone to maintain the fluid level, one person to turn the key, and one person to watch the fluid draining into the pan.

You are now ready to begin bleeding the system.

Have one person crank the motor (you don't want to start the car, this is why you removed the fuse from the EEC) while turning the wheel all the way to one side and then back. You need to make sure that the pump reservoir stays full while doing this, and then the pump will push all the old crap out of the system quickly. You will need to cycle the steering wheel back and forth a couple of times.

It will take about 3 quarts to totally flush the system and refill it.

As soon as your new fluid starts to come through, you are done. Close it back up and top off the fluid.

Doing it any other way will result in at least partial contamination of your new fluid.

If this does not sure the problem (it doesn't always do it) you will just have to replace the pump.