Dirty power steering fluid: This a scam?

When I take my car to local tire and car repair shop to
have the oil changed, they always check my power
steering fluid and come back with a "sample" of it in a
special device that sucks up my fluid in one side and
compares it to CLEAN power steering fluid in another
side.

I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
only do the oil change but they present me with this
"finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
out.

Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
steering fluid and should I have it changed?

Or is this some kind of scam?

Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
am original owner.

wrote:
>
> When I take my car to local tire and car repair shop to
> have the oil changed, they always check my power
> steering fluid and come back with a "sample" of it in a
> special device that sucks up my fluid in one side and
> compares it to CLEAN power steering fluid in another
> side.
>
> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
> only do the oil change but they present me with this
> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
> out.
>
> Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Or is this some kind of scam?
>
> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
> am original owner.

It is a scam, however at 200k you should be changing it anyway. The
power steering system is a hydraulic system without a filter (just a
screen for big debris) and the fluid should be changed eventually to
remove debris. By contrast, the hydraulic system in your transmission
does have a filter, as does the lube/hydraulic system in your engine
(hydraulic lifters) and both of those systems also require regular
service.

> Question: Is this a legit concern? *Dirty power
> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Or is this some kind of scam?
>
At 200k I would have changed the fluid once or twice already, and if
it has not been done, I would certainly do so if it was my car.

If you decide to tackle it yourself an easy way to do it is to go down
to your local hobby store and pick up one of the handheld crank fuel
pumps they use for fueling up model airplanes. Use that to suction the
fluid out of the reservoir, then fill with clean fluid and start the
car and run the wheel back and forth several times to flush the new
fluid into the system. Then clear out the reservoir again and re-fill.
It may take 3-4 passes to get all of the dirty fluid out of the
system.

Good luck with it.

Chris

On 10/08/2010 07:43 PM, wrote:
> When I take my car to local tire and car repair shop to
> have the oil changed, they always check my power
> steering fluid and come back with a "sample" of it in a
> special device that sucks up my fluid in one side and
> compares it to CLEAN power steering fluid in another
> side.
>
> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
> only do the oil change but they present me with this
> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
> out.
>
> Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Or is this some kind of scam?
>
> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
> am original owner.

well, this is obviously extreme and anecdotal, but a friend of mine
bought a '62 or '63 Studebaker GT Hawk and one of the issues with it at
the time of purchase was that the power steering seemed to work
sporadically and not very well. After getting it into his driveway we
decided to flush the PS fluid before disassembling anything because it
was obviously very dirty/burnt. So we unhooked the return line and set
it in a bucket and filled up the reservoir with some fresh ATF. After a
couple cycles of filling the reservoir, starting the engine, and turning
the wheels side to side the fluid looked mostly clean. Reconnected
hose, filled reservoir, bled, and the steering worked fine after that.
So seriously ancient/neglected fluid *can* cause problems in and of itself.

In case anyone cares, this was the Bendix ram-type power assist, as used
on contemporary Corvettes and probably other GM products.

nate

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On 10/08/2010 04:43 PM, wrote:
> When I take my car to local tire and car repair shop to
> have the oil changed, they always check my power
> steering fluid and come back with a "sample" of it in a
> special device that sucks up my fluid in one side and
> compares it to CLEAN power steering fluid in another
> side.

that particular sucking device is connected to your wallet, not your
power steering system.


>
> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
> only do the oil change but they present me with this
> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
> out.
>
> Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Or is this some kind of scam?

my grandmother gets this, dirty fluid and all, even if she had it done
only 3k miles ago and the actual fluid in her car was perfectly clean 5
minutes prior. so yes, it's a scam.

however, there can be reason to change the fluid periodically. but
since disconnecting hoses can cause problems with seals, the preferred
power steering fluid change method is turkey baster. suck out fluid
from the reservoir, then replace. repeat after a week or so if feeling
anal. but it's not super critical since unlike a transmission, the
debris accumulation in the system is minimal, and it's not exposed to
external contaminants like engine oil. it doesn't even get that hot so
it doesn't break down, polymerize or oxidize. all you're doing by
refreshing some of the fluid is replenishing some of the seal
conditioners and changing the color slightly, so while [a safe] fluid
change doesn't hurt anything, it's not achieving that much either.
that's why it's not specified on the vehicle's service schedule.


>
> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
> am original owner.


--
nomina rutrum rutrum

On Oct 8, 7:43*pm, wrote:
> When I take my car to local tire and car repair shop to
> have the oil changed, they always check my power
> steering fluid and come back with a "sample" of it in a
> special device that sucks up my fluid in one side and
> compares it to CLEAN power steering fluid in another
> side.
>
> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
> only do the oil change but they present me with this
> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
> out.
>
> Question: Is this a legit concern? *Dirty power
> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Or is this some kind of scam?
>
> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
> am original owner.

At least they didn't ask to change your blinker fluid.
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main...&products_id=6

On 10/8/10 6:43 PM, in article ,
" > wrote:

> When I take my car to local tire and car repair shop to
> have the oil changed, they always check my power
> steering fluid and come back with a "sample" of it in a
> special device that sucks up my fluid in one side and
> compares it to CLEAN power steering fluid in another
> side.
>
> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
> only do the oil change but they present me with this
> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
> out.
>
> Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Or is this some kind of scam?
>
> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
> am original owner.

The simplest answer is to get out the maintenance schedule that came with
the car. If you find a service interval in it for the power steering fluid,
then follow it. My guess is that its not in there.

For my personal experience, I've only ever changed the power steering fluid
once in one car over 45 years of driving & that car then became the only car
I ever owned that developed leaks in the power steering system. If the
steering is working correctly, I would leave it alone.

> wrote:
>I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
>only do the oil change but they present me with this
>"finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
>steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
>out.
>
>Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
>steering fluid and should I have it changed?

Well, when did you last change it?

>Or is this some kind of scam?
>
>Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
>am original owner.

If you have been following the extreme service schedule in the owner's
manual, you have changed it at least twice already.
--scott

--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On 10/09/2010 06:17 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
> > wrote:
>> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
>> only do the oil change but they present me with this
>> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
>> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
>> out.
>>
>> Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
>> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>
> Well, when did you last change it?
>
>> Or is this some kind of scam?
>>
>> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
>> am original owner.
>
> If you have been following the extreme service schedule in the owner's
> manual, you have changed it at least twice already.
> --scott
>

there is typically no manufacturer schedule specified or need to change
power steering fluid. it doesn't get contaminated by combustion
product, friction material product, is not hygroscopic and doesn't get
overheated.


--
nomina rutrum rutrum

On 10/09/2010 09:44 PM, jim beam wrote:
> On 10/09/2010 06:17 PM, Scott Dorsey wrote:
>> > wrote:
>>> I always tell them NOT to check any other fluids and to
>>> only do the oil change but they present me with this
>>> "finding" every time.... and show me how DIRTY my power
>>> steering fluid is and asking if I want to change it
>>> out.
>>>
>>> Question: Is this a legit concern? Dirty power
>>> steering fluid and should I have it changed?
>>
>> Well, when did you last change it?
>>
>>> Or is this some kind of scam?
>>>
>>> Car is a 2000 Mazda Protege with 200k miles on it and I
>>> am original owner.
>>
>> If you have been following the extreme service schedule in the owner's
>> manual, you have changed it at least twice already.
>> --scott
>>
>
> there is typically no manufacturer schedule specified or need to change
> power steering fluid. it doesn't get contaminated by combustion product,
> friction material product, is not hygroscopic and doesn't get overheated.
>

It doesn't have as severe service as most other fluids, but it can get
contaminated by metal wear particles (mostly from the pump) and also can
become overheated from "assertive" driving (note inclusion of P/S fluid
coolers on high-performance and/or police package vehicles)

So, yes, I would change it on a "keeper" but maybe only when you change
the ATF etc. - it doesn't need to be changed every oil change, say.

nate


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