power steering fluid replace/question

hi guys, its been a few since i ve been on. i was looking to drain my p/s fluid, seems the 'allen' drain is a bigger size than i happen to have. what size is that drain plug? on the back side of the p/s rack unit. thanks, am hoping to get the size so i can go to the store be-4 tonite.

Why drain it there, just disconnect it from the reservoir and block that feed, then fill and drain at the same time. I do it all the time. Just rotate the pump by hand because it’ll move so much fluid running you won’t be able to pour it in fast enough. Don’t forget to actuate the rack back and forth to get it all out.

i just wanted to make sure, for one, thats a drain plug. the manual seems to point out thats an adjustment.
id prefer to drain the system, its the bottom point, so all fluid will drain from there. other than that the fluid wont fully drain, like you point out you can move fluid thru to drain/flush fresh fluid.
as im not going to have a problem with the system 'running dry', draining isnt going to be a problem. like i ve studied and pointed out in the past, drain system, put fluid in, with belt loose turn pump pulley a few times, on stands turn steering from lock to lock a few times, check fluid. when on the ground again check fluid. and such.

well i got it done, i didnt realize the VW fluid was so green, or it was just dirty. was original fluid, it had to come out. i got my help to turn steering lock to lock, while i turned the pump, made some of a mess, got plenty of 'clear' fluid out, i was getting into my 3rd bottle. so i closed up the hose, filled again, turned the pump some more, turned the wheel a few times, did both again. after that i figured id give it a try, started her up. jacked her down, took for a drive. now the steering turns like its skating on ice, its a change for the wheel to feel so 'easy'.

Wow, three bottles. I recall being able to fully flush the system with 1.5 cans of pentosin CHF 202. I didn’t try to drain from the pump... just disconnect the return line from the reservoir and route it to a bucket, plug up the open connection and then fill the reservoir / cycle the steering wheel with the car off, making sure not to run the reservoir dry. Do that until you see clean fluid coming out of the return line. Reconnect, start engine, cycle the steering wheel and recheck fluid level. Done.

Three bottles? Not an issue. It's just how much he used.

i wanted to get plenty of fresh fluid thru, for one. i dont think that stuff, my stuff, is that expensive where its a big deal.
had my help turning the wheel and i was turning the pump. when i saw there was plenty of clear/fresh fluid flowing out i set 'er up.
to start i got the fluid out of the reservoir. then started(with fluid change).
worked out great, except the original fluid was finished, quite either dark, or green, dirty. didnt realize by checking the p/s dip-stick the fluid was so bad. no harm done from using more bottles. im thinking of running her for two years and fresh fluid flushing again, as it was dirty.

Just wondering if you gents think a fluid change would help me. Took a drive today, and every turn I made at idle was accompanied by a belt squeal. I had a loss of power steering then it would come back after the squeal.

Everything is original on mine, even the fluid.

I’d start by checking the belt tension.

-Todd

it helped me a lot. if system hasnt been serviced since new,, then yes. its possible the pump has stopped working fully, being no real service. but the belt tension and/or a new belt is usually the starting point.

doing the routine once i learned a lot to get it right. heres what i did.
jack up front end, i put on stands. remove passenger tire. loosen p/s belt, you want to rotate p/s pulley by hand. check belt, you may want a new one.
now to start routine. i first get as much of the fluid out of the reservoir. have a plastic baggie ready, and a zip-tie. take return hose off, fluid will drain from both sides, the rest of the reservoir you can drain, if your not afraid of a little mess. whether or not, put baggie on, i double it up, zip-tie it. keep reservoir cap off. use a connector from the return hose and a hose extension to your fluid waste 'collector', a gallon jug like an empty milk or water bottle will work. have help to turn steering wheel, have him turn wheel a few times, check if you have fluid flowing out. just to start, lower level some. put fluid in, you turn pump pulley, while help turns wheel lock-to-lock. check fluid level while doing this. as far as a system that has really dirty fluid, and/or hasnt been serviced since new, like i did, i got into 3 bottles to fluid flush. (16 oz bottles). so keep the fluid flowing, after your satisfied, button system/hose up. now check level, keep your help, fluid level doesnt have to be topped off, not when cold or to start anyways. you turn pump a few times, help again turns wheel, lock-to-lock, a few times, again check level, if good, you can do that last part one more time, you turn pump and the help turns wheel. this part is one to make sure the pump is primed, and the rack is purged of any air bubbles. tighten belt, put wheel on, now jack car down, check stuff, like connection, last fluid, have enough in, like above the top needed cold. if ok start, turn steering wheel lock-to-lock(3 times), turn motor off, (added:edit,>)_right here, if you want to be very careful, 1st when you start motor, let idle for about 2seconds, i give it some revs, to idle, shut off, do a quick fluid check, if ok, again start, now turn wheel lock-to-lock 3 times, again shut off, check fluid level. now just to be sure before taking out for a drive, start up again turn wheel lock-to-lock, 6times will do. again, if you want to be careful, shut off and check fluid for the last time.(<<,had added:edited) --and check fluid level, if everything is ok your ready for a drive, after engine/fluid is warmed up you can 'top-off'. doesnt take much to top-off. clean up any fluid mess in engine compartment, with motor warm and engine running. i take a garden hose and clean stuff up, run motor to dry out. <becareful you can get moisture in/near starter, so i keep motor running, take for another drive to dry out. you should have success!!

Jetta SS said:

Just wondering if you gents think a fluid change would help me. Took a drive today, and every turn I made at idle was accompanied by a belt squeal. I had a loss of power steering then it would come back after the squeal.

Everything is original on mine, even the fluid.

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As Todd suggested, you should check the belt first, it could just be that it's time for a new PS / WP belt.

If you have no more symptoms than belt squeal I would think that it's unlikely that your PS is having problems and more likely that your old belt is a bit glazed up and maybe needs replacement.

Steve

As usual, you guys were spot on. Belt was loose, the upper bracket bolt had come loose hanging out half way.

Flushed things out as described here (thanks for the details). That old stuff was dark brown.

Jetta SS said:

That old stuff was dark brown.

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*snicker*, dark brown, lol, isnt the OEM VW stuff supposed to be some kind of green?
the stuff i got out of my system was a dark green along with 'dirt' coming out of it.

Something I ignored here was fluid. I had Valvoline synthetic on the shelf that I used. I stopped by where I bought to get one more in case I need to top off and was told it was discontinued years ago, and they do not sell any syn ps fluid.

Think I will be ok to mix if needed?

I have a feeling OP did not use the proper VW fluid. I'm not typically a stickler for "has to be genuine blah blah" but I heed the warning to use Pentosin. Aside from it being 'the right stuff', I genuinely feel that Pentosin is the most superior fluid I could buy.

The way that OP was surprised that the old fluid was green concerns me. If he was using the right stuff, it's obviously green when new. Pentosin describes it as "pine green" on their MSDS sheet.
Additionally, OP said "not too expensive, so I'm not worried about using up 3 bottles". Uh, it's $20+ per bottle lol. If you weren't worried about the price, then you almost certainly didn't use the proper stuff
"Fluid came out clear"? eek! Sounds like some AutoZone brand universal PSF

dude, i was waiting for someone to comment on 'my stuff'.
*scoff* my stuff certainly isnt cheap or auto-zone stuff.
as all my fluids i dont use VW stuff, i use amsoil for just about everything. the power steering fluid is clear-brownish. its going to be over-rated for this (older) system. as its for most new models if not most popular vehicles. its the amsoil multi-vehicle synthetic. thats why now my steering turns with minimal pressure, nice and easy, like skating.
i havent checked price recently as i have bottles saved up, and used for this car, but most amsoil i buy direct isnt very expensive. (16 oz bottles here).

I see that Amsoil is a synthetic also. It's showing it meets vw specs on the site I viewed.

The Valvoline Synpower I used listed Audi, VW and other Euro compatibility. but.... no longer available. It was only $7/qt when I bought a few years ago.

amsoil is going to be superior as far as fluids and/or other lubes. its products arent really that much more expensive, and certainly not for the quality of the brand/products. if you have to find in a store/shop that carries products as a dealer, you may well pay additional for the dealer of product/brand. they also will not carry but the most common of product lines. you will have to special order, usually adding to the dealer price hike.

valvoline synthetic i had good results when it first came out, in the early-mid '80s. it was a good alternative at the time to mobil1, which was good as a break-thru as synthetics, that was pre-'70s i guess, still mobil1 had its problems. at the time i found it ok for my mild-performance type1 bug. thats sometime ago, and aside from running an air-cooled on '80s type of a synthetic, it did ok at the time.
i think valvo-synthetic is about the minimal for an industry standard for fluids/quality. eeh its ok, you should be fine. as far as getting off the shelf, its better than some products you can find in average auto stores.

i have the top amsoil bearing grease, now its the dominator stuff, supposed to be good. i found stuff that will blow it away, however is specific. its the tractor-trailer grease and 5th wheel grease--for alaska and canada. my bud works in a truck shop, so i doubt for our automobile purposes its necessary or obtainable, or even in a cars price range,,.

Do NOT use anything but the genuine VW, Pentosin CHF-202 or the CHF-11s in these power steering systems. Period. Just because it’s listed as “OK for European cars” does not mean it’s the right stuff. Especially when we’re talking about 20+ yr old cars. You’re just asking for trouble if your seals don’t like the new stuff.

all amsoil oils/fluids/& lubes are compatible with VWs of these models. as far as i know from these years all VWs available (at the time) in North America, again all amsoil products, are compatible. in the same context, again, for recent models from VW, available in NA, amsoil products are ok. <superior is the usual term, i believe. but they will work. as long as used properly(ie diesel oil, etc).

to note: for older cars, yes there is going to be concern. any upgrade in a oil/fluid/lube in a high mileage car especially to a synthetic, and a better synthetic can be of more concern. yes a better/much better fluid or oil can cause older cars, esp an un-maintained car to develop problems.
its best to know you car and put in products you know.

Unless it's certified compliant with the VW standard it's not recommended. The VW fluid is readily available I don't recommend anything but OE for the PS system. Others have tried allegedly compatible fluids and they end up ruining the PS system.

When the OE fluid is available why use anything else? I don't think the system takes more than a liter.

Steve

a number of years ago i had a problem with the original head in this car. i dont know how he did it, but i see the result. i wasnt driving of taking care of the car at that time. i had to replace the head. also had to replace 2 of the pistons. the factory 'finish' machining, the oil grooves, cross-pattern if you will, for break-in, were clearly visible. there was no visible wear. i could have at the time just put the pistons and etc back in, as usual i did my prep of area. now i forget when we switched to amsoil and the full, early history of us having this car. but we got it if i recall less than 2years old, about 20k low-miles on it. if that. so he for when he had the car had a dual oil filter set-up he installed. its not hard to put in, maybe a pita to put in for the most part. i find no need for the 2 filter set-up. (use those real good amsoil filters tho, so that stuff seems to work real good). i have real good faith in the amsoil as far as quality, and no doubts.

as far as certain systems, or as i point out, and from time to time have to bring up in topics. is for one, as i pointed out above, putting a better fluid or lube in a used or high(er) mileage car. the better the change up to a oil/lube/etc, the more possible of problems. esp switching to a synthetic can be a terminal case for a car. a higher brand of a synthetic, can be a bigger problem. im sure we all realize this, in our own way.
as far as power steering systems i do not doubt what you say. in any case if you do it on your own or take it to a shop, anything, from oil change to work, of any type, your basically on your own, anyway. p/s systems can be a real pain to service, as far as seals or even major part replacement. no doubt. its not cheap or an easy place to do work, etc. it is an advanced fluid, and if the system is old or esp dirty it can be a cause of a problem, no doubt. then again just changing to fresh fluid can cause just about the same problems. the root problem in that case is lack of maintenance. its the first time i put in fresh fluid in this system, fortunately its a strong system, i ve kept up on the car, and am rewarded by so many things. she keeps on running, just how i want 'er. i didnt want that system to be so long for service or quite so dirty. in the past year i made it a point to change out fluid on our other cars. hey 10 years seems quite long for a fluid. needs to be freshened. one thing, my p/s work niicce now. fortunately no complaints here. hopefully that will be the case.

I've looked at a couple more threads here and vortex, I keep seeing that ch11-s is a mineral oil and petroleum type products damage our seals over time. I've since thrown away the old bottles I had, and finding no info online so I can't re-check specs. So I'm going to spend the money and do this again.

The Advance auto near me has Prestone Euro - I'm seeing it lists VW and it's expensive just like the Pentosin, but I'm going to make the drive to auto zone and get the actual pentosin.

CHF202 is a little bit cheaper, and compatible.

-Todd

Thanks Todd, The chf 202 was $18.99 vs $26.99 for ch11-s.

iluvmydiesels said:

the root problem in that case is lack of maintenance.

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Jetta SS said:

is a mineral oil and petroleum type products damage our seals over time.

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or in your case, good research. a product that may seem/supposed to be compatible, and is known to be problematic.

I laugh at the debate on fluid... mine leaked when I got it, finally fixed the leaky reservoir, not after pretty much running it dry and filling it back up with atf... atf has been in there for almost 4 years now, hasnt blown up

yea, well, as it was my 1st p/s change for these cars, i just had some questions. at first. mine is a success and works good. no probs,, so far. its not really that difficult, other than some mess can happen around the starter. mine hadnt been done apparently since the factory. itd be smarter to do quite a bit earlier. as when i checked the dip-stick level(p/s), i couldnt tell fluid color or that it was dirty. so i was a little taken when i saw the fluid coming out. as far as me, unless i have problems with mine, im kind of stuck on my amsoil stuff i have. not just this p/s stuff, all of it. hey as long as i dont get it coming past a seal(s) in the future its not of another concern. just works as all that stuff does!

I wasnt poking fun at you for asking questions, I ask them all the time, I just meant the if you dont use this fluid, the sky is gonna come crashing down type of stuff