My CV has developed a slight groaning noise and a little stiffness in the pwr steering, sometimes. checked fluid, plenty of it and good flow, no leaks in hoses or around connections or at pump or gearbox. However, at 108K it has not been changed, looks dirty. Any suggestions for a method of flushing it with new fluid. Thanks, John R
Remove the return line from the reservoir, and direct it into a large jug (gallon size). Have about 6 qt's of new fluid ready (I would buy extra - maybe 12 qt's - and return what you don't use). Having two helpers is a good idea, but you can get by with one. Make sure the car is not too hot - you don't want a burn from the fluid.
Have one hold the return line in the gallon jug, have another at the ignition. Fill the reservoir to the very top and start the car. Keep pouring new fluid into the reservoir, don't let it go dry, if the motor gets ahead of you yell for your helper to stop the car (on my car I run it for just 1 second and the reservoir is dry), repeat until the fluid coming out of the return is clean. Then reconnect the return, start the car, move the steering wheel back and forth a few time, fill to the proper level, then keep an eye on it over the next few days.
Also tell your helper to stop the car if anything at all odd happens - unlike mine who yelled at me that the return was spraying all over the place, meanwhile not hearing me shouting to stop the car!
Have lots of rags, and stuff to put on the floor to absorb spills ready. Also have someone ready to jump start you, in case you drain the battery from the numerous start/stops.
Some people say to prevent the car from starting (remove the ignition coil, or fuel pump fuse), but that did not work for me (different car then yours), the starter did not turn the pump fast enough to do anything at all. Also you risk burning out the starter from the non stop cranking.
-Ariel
PS. If your car uses Mercon ATF for the power steering, Target sells it for 0.79 a qt. Car and Driver brand.
Maybe not the best method, but if you find a hose connection near the bottom of the vehicle, you could undo that and the the fluid run out.
With the '88 Pontiac 6000 I drove last winter, this was easy enough. (well, the metal tubing there rusted through and my dad cut it off and patched it with some rubber hose which later burned through while I was using the car and all the power steering fluid dropped through :-))
========================== Better check the fluid resivore for the screen being plugged. With the car running you will see fluid rushing around in there but it will starve the pump just enough to cause noise and possible stiffness. It acts just like its low, but its not. I got burned on this once before on a 96 CV, noise that I thought required a pump replacement. The screen is on the bottom of the resivour, you can reach it with your finger, it will be nasty and gooy. Your mileage is about right for this to happen.
Similar problem on 94 Grd Marquis turned out to be dry lower ball joint socket (no lube fitting). Temporary fix was some WD40 injected under the boot. .... Jim
=========================== Dont tell anyone but... It was an old car and I just poked a hole through the filter, worked great. I dont think there is anyway to remove the filter. You would most likely have to remove the resivor and flush it out somehow. GL
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