When to change power steering fluid ?

[WhitePearl2000]

I have been reading about how to change the power steering fluid but cant find the specific milage interval . I must say that the Explorer's power steering fluid ' looks ' clean in that it looks red and there is no power steering pump ' whine ' . It's a 2000 Limited with 63,000 , so if there is no problem , leave it alone or is there a change interval for power steering fluid ?

 

[UtahX]

I think it's every 30,000.

 

[chance942]

Do you have a vacuum pump? Turkey baster?

Maybe someone else knows a better way to get it out but to truly change it all out you need to get what is in the gear too. Like flushing. I would just get the reservoir really low and refill it with some good ATF. Laste time I was @ O'rielly all they had was Lucas ATF,not even their brand was stocked. So unless you want Lucas might try another house/ The lucas was $7/qt. I put that in my T case.

You won't get the "Ford whine" with that pump and if it is nice and red and not brole well...

I did change my reservoir fluid @ 107k but it was a little darker than your's I guessing. Might be a good PM.

 

[WhitePearl2000]

Apparently its up for grabs when to change power steering fluid . I have read every 2 years or when you change radiator fluid or 15k to 30k or even 100k or power steering fluid is good " for the life of the vehicle "

I just bought a fluid exchange pump to draw out the fluid . i dont have jack stands to lift the front end off the ground so the fluid exchange will have to do . Since its really just a PM item it should be better than nothing at all .

Also, I'm wondering , do alot of vehicles have a power steering fluid radiator ?

 

[GCDMD]

Interesting timing for this thread, I just finished flushing mine out well yesterday afternoon. I did as a poster mentioned above, using a turkey baster to remove the reservoir contents and fill with fresh fluid. Keep in mind that this only removes a small amount of fluid given the total capacity of the system. I did this 6 times,, waiting 3-4 days between each flush until my fluid was nice and clear (valvoline synthetic fluid). I haven't noticed any difference, but I guess it never hurts to do a little preventative. I had 170K before I did mine!!
I don't think I've actually ever known anyone that has burned up their power steering pump with the exception of one subaru forester owner. If she hadn't been such a good friend, I would have never helped her with that thing...what a pain.
Good luck!

Apparently its up for grabs when to change power steering fluid . I have read every 2 years or when you change radiator fluid or 15k to 30k or even 100k or power steering fluid is good " for the life of the vehicle "

I just bought a fluid exchange pump to draw out the fluid . i dont have jack stands to lift the front end off the ground so the fluid exchange will have to do . Since its really just a PM item it should be better than nothing at all .

Also, I'm wondering , do alot of vehicles have a power steering fluid radiator ?

 

[chance942]

My pump has a cooler on it. I would say that when Ford did away w/ the C2 design they added them to the new design.

I wonder if they knew how to fix the whine for 30 years or just considered it a Ford trademark. I mean you always knew it was a Ford am I wrong?

I always just wanted to permatex the damn cap on so it wouldn't suck so much air.

As far as other makes I'd say yes,later years anyway.