Re: Dealer says Power Steering fluid is dirty...

This just happened to me. I took my '02 PF to my dealer for an
>alignment. The service writer told me that for my mileage (52K), they >recommend a coolant flush & fill, a fuel injector service and a power >steering flush & fill. Each service cost $100. I declined them all.

Unless it has long life coolant (red?) it should be changed every two years. Drain, flush with clean water, refill with new coolant (should use rain water or distilled) at right mix for your part of the world. Ensure the old coolant and water used for flushing does not enter any open water course or soakaway. It must go though a water treatment plant.

I suspect that the injector service is just a dose of Forte injector cleaner or similar (Wynns, STP) in the tank. They will bad mouth anything they don't supply as being likely to degrade the injector seals and cause leaks.

$100 seems high for any of these services and I have never heard of >flushing the power steering fluid before. I was skeptical because >this is the same dealer that wanted $50 each to change oil in the >differentials. I changed it myself in 1/2 hour for about $20 total. >O.K. it was an hour because I had to find a cheater pipe to get the >drain plugs out. > >What is involved in changing the power steering fluid? Is it just a >matter of sucking out the reservoir and refilling?

Use a turkey baster. Suck old stuff out, re-fill, run a few days and then do it again. You don't get a 100% replacement of fluid but it's good enough and better than taking the oulet hose off, runing it dry and then having to bleed the air out after refilling.

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