My Convertible has 196,000 Miles on it. Approximately a month after I purchased it (new in 88), the power steering made a noise I didn't recognize, I checked the fluid level. It seemed a little low so I added some. A short while later it 'burped' some of the fluid out when I checked it again.

A month ago, the PS unit started to vibrate when turning the wheel. That night I added more fluid (first time I touched the PS since the month I bought the car). I may have added the wrong fluid because shortly after the PS started making a horrible noise when turning the wheel.

Does anyone know of a fluid tested safe for flushing the power steering? And if so, does anyone know how to completely drain the system?

 

What i did was I got a gear oil pump and shoved it in there and pumped all the fluid out. I then put in all new fluid. Drove it and took a few corners to circulate it and did it again. After 4 times the PS fluid was pretty clean even after a drive.

 

he reply

So, I guess that means that you emptied the reservoir and then disconnected the hoses and pumped out the rack directly?

I may give that a try. I was thinking about running kerosene through the system, but I was afraid that it might damage some internal parts and I wasn't sure if it is compatible with the PS fluid.

 

I purchased a siphon, removed all the old fluid and refilled with new clean fluid. All noise is gone and the steering is smooth again.

 

It seems that I can only run the car for a couple weeks then the noise is back.

What is happening is that the PS fluid is leaking out under pressure. Do anyone know where instruction can be found for rebuilding the PS pump?

Does anyone have a used (in good working condition) PS pump they want to sell?

 

Maybe your ps pump seals are just getting a little dry. Have you tried to use some kind of ps fluid with seal conditioner? It might be worth a try(and a couple dollars). Just a thought...hope everything works out.