New rack & pinion

[66mgb]

Having the rack & pinion changed out today. Should I continue to use the Valvoline Synthetic p.s. fluid or should it be something else?

[DrewQ45]

Use good quality Auto Transmission fluid instead. Get one of those cheap hand siphons for a few bucks and siphon off some fluid after every few engine oil changes. If you get a siphon with a small enough hose, the hose can be pushed deep down inside the feed hose which hooks up the bottom of the PS fluid reservoir until it almost reaches the steering rack. Replenish with fresh ATF fluid and you're good to go.

In your case, since you this would be a switchover... I'd siphon, turning steering wheel lock to lock a few times in one session.

..Drew...

[elwesso]

What I do is every 3 months I just change the fluid in the res... my fluid says clean and red..... Do the procedure Drew mentioned, but I like to do it 2-3-4 times a year to keep it good... basically over the course of 3 months the fluid gets a tiny bit low, so i just suck out all the fluid and put new in.

[irax]

WHAT? talk about taking care of the symptoms and not the problem there el wesso....

[elwesso]

First off, i have yet to know of any nissan steering system that doesnt lose a tiny bit of fluid over the course of a year... Second off, when i say it gets low, its like barely below the hatches on the dipstick..... Its never gotten terribly low, and id say over the course of 1 year id have to add less than half a pint to keep the fluid completely full..

[maxnix]

First off, i have yet to know of any nissan steering system that doesnt lose a tiny bit of fluid over the course of a year...

Well mine don't, except for one G50 after I changed all to M1.

In a discussion via email with TexasOil I need to post in Infiniti Online Mechanic, he noted that ATF does not have seal conditoners. I was seeping from all sealed orifices, all started simultaneously.

He recommended MMO and annual changes. There PS fluid can be under a lot of thermal stress, especially in around town driving. He recommended 4 oz. of MMO as conditioner.

I went the BG mechanical exchange route (I am not a believer in drain and fill for any hyraulic fluid for effective fluid replacement), noting that BG uses a seal condtioner as well as sythetic fluid. Cost was under $100.

[qship96]

hate to say Brian,but spending 100 per year to do BG fluid exchange is a total waste of money compared to turkey basting a full qt of new synthetic atf yearly thru the p/s resivour,at a cost of 5-7 dollars.I now have a 10 year old q doing only this method with 179,056 miles and system is as new-never any leaks,seeps,or issues.{and I saved nearly ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS over your method} to be better spent on other preventative maint. of the q. just my2 cents.

[DrewQ45]

First off, i have yet to know of any nissan steering system that doesnt lose a tiny bit of fluid over the course of a year... Second off, when i say it gets low, its like barely below the hatches on the dipstick..... Its never gotten terribly low, and id say over the course of 1 year id have to add less than half a pint to keep the fluid completely full..

Nothing like a little weepage to keep the replenishment going. My old Camry used to leak a quart every month or so... shoot... I never needed to peform an oil drain! Just change the filter which was up top every now and then.

[Jeff Williams]

Just do what I did in Layla. Try passing a truck in the grass at 90 MPH, then let the PS pump vacate the entire system while you look for the best place to stop. Then have it towed to the shop, for a refill and new hoses.

Or you coudl do what I did in Lola, pass a 300M at 123 MPH to look back and see 805 of your PS fluid sprayed all over the front of his car, then have it towed to the shop for a refill and a new hose.

It is much faster and a lot more fun than the turkey baster idea. Although, it is much more expensive,

[66mgb]

Just do what I did in Layla. Try passing a truck in the grass at 90 MPH, then let the PS pump vacate the entire system while you look for the best place to stop. Then have it towed to the shop, for a refill and new hoses.

Or you coudl do what I did in Lola, pass a 300M at 123 MPH to look back and see 805 of your PS fluid sprayed all over the front of his car, then have it towed to the shop for a refill and a new hose.

It is much faster and a lot more fun than the turkey baster idea. Although, it is much more expensive,

LOL!

When I first picked up my Q in 2000, I took it to the USGP in Indy to impress my friends. They loved the quiet ride and the way the V8 pulled. When we hit Crawfordsville, IN the ps pump started that familiar whine and the steering started to grab, so I pulled it into the gas station to check it out. Long story, short - the hose from the ps resivoir was split and leaking at the fitting. Couldn't get to the damn hose to fix it at the gas station, so I kept pouring in the ps fluid every 30 miles or so.Needless to say I had a big job cleaning the engine compartment when I got home.

BTW - the steering is nice and crisp. Removed the old fluid and topped off with Mobil1 ATF. No annoying moan from the pump.