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So I bought a bottle of power steering treatment today and it says on the bottle to add the entire contents to the reservoir. I don't think that it will all fit in mine. Its a 350ml bottle, so should i just add some or what?

that all depends, whats the problem with the power steering?

Nothing. I just want to add some treatment to it, keep it good.

regular fluid should keep it good, im not sure if your car uses ATF fluid for the power steering, but if it does, I'd advise against using fluids other than ATF fluid. I wouldnt fix what isnt broken.

This post has been edited by NismoTime on Apr 17 2009, 01:49 AM

I got both. Thought it would be the same as engine conditioner.

If it ain't broke don't fix it. Additives are a bad idea in general if you can help it.

So let's say you're power steering system has a decent amount of gunk. You put in an additive to clean that up... where does it go? It goes first to the reservoir, then it tries to leave the reservoir to get drawn into the pump. Hopefully there's a filter there to catch it. If not, it'll go straight to the pump and gum it up. If there's a filter, you'll be clogging it, and therefore force the pump to work harder to do the same amount of work, which in turn forces the engine to work harder... just so you can turn your wheels.

If it needs to be cleaned out, take it somewhere for a flush.

Ok thanks for the tips. I'll just be using regular fluid

You can flush it at home.
Power steering systems generally hold less than 2 quarts so go buy 2.
Remove the return line (usually the one that isn't bolted to the pump) and place it in a bucket. Open a quart, start the car and run it until the fluid slows to a trickle, add fluid until you see new fluid coming out. reconnect the line, fill the reservoir, replace the cap and start the car, run it lock to lock a few times then recheck fluid level.

Sorry to bring this back, but I was wondering if this will also get rid of the "creaking" noise symptom when you turn the steering wheel on either direction. I'm planning on doing this on my Cavalier, but is this process the same on just about every vehicle?

Usually will stop the gnashing or squealing noise from your ps. And yes this is about the same on any car. I only deal with older USDM but have done this on my gf's 03 Taurus.

And I forgot to add If you have a helper you can get a more complete flush by turning the wheel lock to lock while someone is adding fluid through the reservoir. It helps to have the car on jack stands to take the weight off the wheels. It may take a while for the pump to bleed after you refill it don't be worried if you here some gnashing while it works the air out.

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