Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General General Power steering fluid color?

What color should the power steering fluid be? When I had the tour's oil change done this weekend, they told me I should have it changed and showed me the new and old power steering fluid.
Has anyone changed theirs and is it a regular maintenance item? I ask this because I've never changed the power steering fluid of any of my several cars!

Thanks,

Stephen

Regular P/S fluid get's opaque, brownish, and can have a cooked smell to it.

However the P/S fluid in our cars is ATF. It will get blackish & smell burnt.

It should be flushed periodally (3yr/40k) as general maintenance anyway.

I run Mobil 1 ATF.

Ok, thanks,

so they were not just looking for more money.

What they showed me was brownish and the new was pinkish. I've never changed the power steering fluid on any of my cars. Is it hard to do yourself or should I pay someone to do it? I think they said about $75 Canadian to do it for me.
It would cause leaks etc if left too long, right?

What should I check for when it gets done to see if it was done right?

Thanks again,

Stephen

It's not hard to do, just tedious. You'll need a quart or three of ATF. Remove the old fluid from the reservoir first; you can buy pumps for bleeding brakes that will work. A turkey baster works fine also. Top off the reservoir with new ATF. Turn the wheel from one stop to the other a couple times to cycle the fluid. Repeat until reservoir fluid looks like new.

I also use Mobil 1 SATF (new it's a dark translucent red)