Junia

Now this is going to be a pretty dumb question but I've honeslty never had to do this on any car before. What is the correct way to bleed the air out of a P/S system in a 85 GSL? I don't know if I did it right but all I did was had someone turn the wheel from lock to lock while I filled the thing with fluid.

LongDuck

Been awhile since I read the FSM for PS stuff, but I think that's what Mazda recommends to 'bleed' the PS system.

There are multiple 'cautions' in that section about NOT leaving the PS set to limits for either right or left, because this blocks the flow of fluid through the pump and increases PS fluid temperature rapidly and could quickly damage the pump or lines. That means, when you're driving, don't sit at idle with the tires cranked all the way over one direction or the other.

There is a PS fluid 'loop' cooler in front of the radiator that's designed to shed some heat that gets generated here, but it's a small system. Normally, bleeding is done as a course of using the PS in regular driving. The bleeding allows airbubbles to vent to the reservoir, so you should check PS fluid in a day or two and see if you need to 'top-off' the fluid in the reservoir.

That should be it. I like the PS in the SE, and have driven an SA22, so I know what I'm gaining...

Junia

cool thanks, I'm just gonna keep checking for the next few days and keep adding fluid till I don't have to anymore. I was thinking of getting rid of the power steering for a while but I've come to the point where I don't want to be without it.