Replacing Power Steering Fluid with ATF Oil

[Redlavita]

my friend went to service his ride and was told by the mechanic that it's alright to

use ATF oil inplace of power steering fuild..

it's pass 3 months already and his ride is still doing fine..

Anyone tried before?

[So_nice]

i haf heard of this and seen pple doing it..i mean, no side effect meh?

[Redlavita]

it may sound strange but his power steering still working leh...

Edited August 19, 2008 by Redlavita

[Kb27]

For older cars, they tend to interchangeably used ATF to replace PSF.

But one property, that ATF does not have is anti-foaming which PSF has.

 

It may not hurt to use ATF, but I'd rather use PSF which is formulated for that application.

[Dwoon]

I think my manual says for ATF DEXRON III can be use for PS.

[Tomcat]

but why use a different oil when a specific one is available?

[Roadhogger]

normally how many lites do we need..

[Tomcat]

actually, i don't know, i just go and buy the oil myself...tell them my car model and the check the parts number (from my manual), pay and go...so can't answer your question...maybe someone in this thread can...

[Watwheels]

I dun think there will be side effect. Most PS is rack and pinion which is also a type of gear.

[Octopus]

my friend went to service his ride and was told by the mechanic that it's alright to

use ATF oil inplace of power steering fuild..

it's pass 3 months already and his ride is still doing fine..

Anyone tried before?

 

I thought I read something about this from BITOG forum (but not sure if I remembered it correctly)...

 

I think AFT oil is a better fluid than power steering oil, since the amount of stress that AFT fluid goes thru in a transmission is greater. So putting ATF oil in power steering (which is a basic hydraulic system) is no problem, but not the other way round.

 

Now I also have a question: Can Toyota Type T-IV be used in Mitsubishi power steering, which calls for Dexron II or III? I thinking should be ok, but cannot find any document that say so... Anyone got any answer to this? Thanks.

[Nine_eleven]

i've tried it before, on both an altis and a camry... using Toyota Type T-IV

 

just diy at home, quite satisfying actually...

 

just use an empty shampoo container to pump out the PSF reservoir, then pour in to refill, do that every week for about 5-6 weeks, then the PSF would have been changed liao...

 

the steering feel is creamier, slightly heavier, feels good!

[Genie47]

I'm using T-IV as PSF when my specs ask for Dexron.

[Octopus]

[reply]

I'm using T-IV as PSF when my specs ask for Dexron.

Ok, I guess its safe for me to use it too.

[Boyboy]

feels good after change yeah?

 

i think dun need to change too often though. maybe every 40000km at most. or when u feel the steering a bit "rough" when parking

[Nine_eleven]

ya, PSF no need to change so often, 40k interval is just nice.

[Kb27]

I just use a suck and fill method diy.

But Hyundai spec for PSF3 is hard or impossible to find.

I just used what I could find...not many selling PSF except the common STP.

[Robin]

yes can but check yr car manual to confirm.

 

My ATF and power steering fluid can interchange

[Trex101]

Yes, you can alter your power steering characteristic too (hard or light) by altering the fluid used. Thin oil like Dexron VI(6.4cSt) will give you lighter feel while thicker fluid like High Temp(10.0cSt) will give the harder feel.