my steering was hard so i added tranny fluid to it like it calls for and thats what was in there. went for a ride to test and while im moving its ok but when stopped its hard to turn. anyone know what to do next? thanks, nutsy.

 

sorry for the double post. anyone have help on what to do? do i need to bleed it or something?

 

Most common cause listed in the trouble shooting chart is a bad pump. I assume that the fluid level is still correct as low fluid was another cause.

Gary

 

i went out this morning and now its working good after sitting over night. i added the fluid yesterday. could the air bubbles maybe of worked there way out?

 

Air in the system and/or air and oil whipped to a foam by the pump can definately give you a lack of power assist. The air will work itself out of the system over time.

Originally in the 1950’s, automatic transmission fluid (ATF) was specified for use in both General Motors automatic transmissions and also for their power steering systems. But as vehicles got heavier, engines bigger, and temperatures hotter, the requirements for the two different systems changed. The GM Research Labs had a Lubricants Section that began testing and modifying the ATF formulation to improve the performance of the GM Hydramatic, Dynaflow, and Powerglide transmissions. They did this without much regard to the fact that the power steering system was using the ATF fluid as well. Sort of the tail being wagged by the dog.

So around the same time, Saginaw Steering Gear Division and Texaco began testing and developing a fluid specifically for power steering. The fluid characteristics were specifically formulated to provide anti-corrosion and non-foaming qualities with excellent lubrication for year around use. There was also particular emphasis placed on wear testing performance with respect to the vanes, rotor, cam ring, and the driveshaft bushing in the big Saginaw “P” model power steering pump.

By the way, the “P” model was the only power steering pump used in all C2/C3 Corvettes and all GM passenger cars and light trucks with power steering in the 1960s and 1970s.

That is why some of the early power steering reservoir caps had ATF specified as the proper fluid to use. All the later pump caps and the owner's manuals have said to use "Approved Fluid". The GM power steering fluid is approved for use in any vehicle with a Saginaw power steering pump.

To be honest, all of the Saginaw power steering pumps adapt fairly well to all kinds of fluids. The pumps are marketed and sold all over the world and are used by many vehicle manufacturers who specify their own power steering fluids. Chrysler in the past has used a very simple mineral based fluid. They eventually changed to GM power steering fluid. I am not sure if they still use GM fluid today or not. Ford uses a special Ford ATF fluid. VW uses a European brand of fluid called Pentosin. All of these fluids reportedly work well in their vehicles.

I have no idea who formulated the PS fluid that is sold at K-mart, Pep Boys, NAPA, etc. This isn’t to say that it is bad. However, the amber colored GM fluid is the only fluid that has been certified and tested in GM durability test vehicles for millions of miles. It also is the only fluid that have been durability tested in the Saginaw Steering Gear engineering labs for hundreds of thousands of hours. All of the rubber compounds that are used in the seals, hoses, etc in the production GM power steering system are tested in the materials laboratory for compatibility with the fluid.

The GM part number for a quart of power steering fluid is 89020661. The previous GM part number for power steering fluid was 1050017. Both fluids work equally well.

Jim

 

thanks JIM for the very informative information. never knew there was so much to it. ive been using the tranny fluid like manual says. it does get hot since i have a big block. if i change to a better lubricant i would imagine i will have to flush out old. thanks, nutsy.