PS fluid/filter, Another Overlooked Maint.
 

89 300E. My steering started groaning, so i checked
and refilled. Again, it became noisy so i have decided
to drain and replace filter as per searched thread - using
the siphoned method.

After a liter of water-clear PS fluid, the fluid i have been
retrieving is still dark. will continue doing so, until i get
a clear colour fluid. hopeflully, the groaning will stop as well.

Lesson: drain and replace filter/fluid regularly. i don't
know what the book says.

Cheers!!

It's not a lot more work to have the return hose drain into a pan while you pour fresh fluid into the reservoir for a more thorough flush. Engine running, wheels off the ground, of course.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

{OT}

on a citroen xantia i am borrowing - the PS takes about ten minutes to fire up in the morning - cleaning the PS (and everything else....) filter and now the PS fires up instntly - aparantly a common fault with these.... you should have seen the filthy state of the filter - YUK!!

PO had just lived with it for 6 months - took me about half an hour to fix.

I still have the dexron in mine. Been there for as long as I've owned the car. I went out and bought about 5 quarts of PS fluid- 3 cheap bottles, and 2 good. I plan to flush out with the cheap stuff and put the good stuff in.

The filter is maybe 2 months old. Would you change it again since a new type of fuid is being introduced?

Another question- which one is the return hose? Must one start the engine to flush fluid through the system, or can the steering wheel be turned back and force, forcing out the fluid?

Mike

edit- Looking to do this on the 300SE.

The return hose is the one that feeds into the reservoir and has a simple hose clamp over a rubber hose that slips over a nipple. The pressure hose has a more complex fitting like an AC hose. Don't worry, you can't release the pressure hose with a screwdriver. Not in a W126 300SE anyway.

Turning the steering wheel will not circulate the fluid. The pump has to be running for fluid to circulate.

Look up the price of a filter and decide if it's worth saving. I think it's the same part number for the older (<86) systems that use ATF so it shouldn't be a problem.

Sixto
95 S420
87 300SDL

Thanks sixto.

Heading out to the garage:)