power steering fluid

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13 October 2013
Artorious

power steering fluid

I read some where that using the wrong power steering fluid may cause the fluid to leak straight through when sitting causing a puddle, it was recommended but now I've found out that the recommended fluid is CHF 11S which is $25.00 a can( which is high compared to some but if it's required no problem) I was looking to replace a hose because of the leak, but now I'm thinking it's just the fluid. Before buying die and going through all that looking for a leak in the hoses that may or may not leak what are the thoughts out there..Could it just be the fluid?
16 October 2013
euromobile900

Wrong fluid won't cause everything to immediately leak, but it can cause hoses to gradually lose their ability to hold fluid over years and years. When this happens, generally the rubber part of the hose will "weep" and slowly lose fluid at a very slow rate. There is no going back to the correct fluid--if you've had the wrong fluid in there, you have to replace the rubber hoses to correct the weeping problem.

When people talk about wrong fluid, they are usually talking about Honda (or Honda-compatible) fluid. Our cars take GM-spec power steering fluid. In my experience anything that meets the GM spec and not the Honda spec (there are fluids out there that meet both, but they are not good for either; don't use these) will do just fine. I get mine from Advance Auto Parts, and it does the job just fine.

If you have a puddle right behind your right front wheel, it is likely the hose clamp that holds the non-pressure hose onto the reservoir. Tighten this up and see if the leak doesn't stop.
16 October 2013
Artorious

Good advice will do..what about the CHF11s worth it?
16 October 2013
euromobile900

Quote:

Originally Posted by Artorious

Good advice will do..what about the CHF11s worth it?

Hm, Pentosin/FEBI synthetic... Not worth putting into a system where it will just leak out! If I had just bought a new rack, I'd probably start with that quality. Otherwise, just generic GM-compatible (make sure it meets standard GM 9985010, should say so on the bottle) will be plenty good enough.

Low quality fluid will just say something vague like "Universal" and will not list GM standards on the bottle. Some of these even say that you should not use for a complete fill :o. I would not use them for anything. If you want to change the fluid, you can use a big syringe or turkey baster to get the majority of the fluid out via the reservoir, then fill it back up.
16 October 2013
Badwolf

Quote:

Originally Posted by euromobile900

If you have a puddle right behind your right front wheel, it is likely the hose clamp that holds the non-pressure hose onto the reservoir. Tighten this up and see if the leak doesn't stop.

Had this problem and this DID fix the leak. BEAR IN MIND that there may be one or more small cracks where the hose attaches to the reservoir (mine had a few) so we had to trim about 1/4-1/2" off the end of the hose. So far, no more leaks and it's working great. There's not a ton of slack in this line, so don't get over zealous with the trim-back. FWIW