i recently got my powersteering and tranny flushed like 2 months ago.. yesterday i changed my upper control arm and ball joint and the mechanic said my powersteering fluid was really black.. so i drained it all out and poured in some new fluid.. so today i checked again and it was all black.. so i drained and filled .. and it turned black again.. i bought four bottles and it 3 more times and still the same.. I dont know why...

another problem i have is that when i turn my wheel in any direction it dosent automatically center itself back. i have to manually turn it back

PLease help!! thanks..

 

That's really weird...

What PS fluid are you using? Honda/Acura? Even if something was wrong with your system, I have trouble believing the fluid would turn black in just one day. How's the fluid level? Any noise/whine when you turn?

 

how exactly are you getting the fluid out?
acura says to remove the return line to ps res, attach additional hose to drain pan.
start engine and turn wheels back and forth to pump out all the fluid from the rack and lines

refill- burp by turning wheels- keep adding fluid as needed
if it was really ugly repeat 2-3 times

tip: place cardboard under the wheels to reduce surface friction

 

acura says 3 years/60kmiles ps flush interval iirc
honda fluid seems to have an advantage in our systems over other brands
some ~secret sauce~,,buy fluid at honda for less than acura-same stuff

 

Please explain that in detail-

It returns to an off center position? Is the wheel centered when you're going straight to begin with?

 

i use the honda power steering fluid to flush out.. i believe they pour it in a machine that sucks out the old and pumps new fluid in.. I went home and sucked out all the fluid in the reservoir and added new ones to see if it would be cleaner and it still the same after i turned side to side.. i tried it 3 more times and still the same so i left it. Like it turns black as soon as i turn left all the way and right all the way. There is no whining or grinding noises when i turn.. its just weird that its all black. or dark dark brown.. I think its the seal in my rack and pinion wearing down maybe??

The other thing about the wheel i was talking about is like for instant i make a right turn. the steering wheel is to the right and wont slowly turn back by itself without me manually turning the steering wheel left. It just stays there.. My car goes perfectly straight and i just got an alignment and my wheels balanced to see if it would help. but same thing.

 

for flushing ps fluid- you have not yet begun!!!
see the diy and my short directions above

you must remove the return line from res- the one that brings fluid back from the rack.
slip a larger diameter hose over that and secure with hose clamp--or there will be a huge mess
start engine--cardboard under wheels--turn wheels until ALL the fluid is pumped out!
refill- burp-flush again

you are removing a few ounces from the res,,of a multi pint capacity system--
of course its black!--thats old fluid still trying to make its way out

do it right and things will change to correct color

atf flush--did they suck out old fluid and replace?
not supposed to do that with the TL either!!
manual drain and refill is what it likes

 

Acura doesn't like machine flushes =[

 

are you basically sitting still or driving down the road, cause it will not return fully/or even start to return to center, unless you are actually moving
with how fast it does kinda speed dependent


takes a little bit to flush out all the old shit first, before the color starts to get better

 

There's a SeaFoam product specifically made for Tranny/PS called Trans Tune. You could flush the system with that stuff, and then flush it with the new fluid.

 

Ah no i mean like moving.. slow or fast i tried it all its all manually now.. like before i can make a turn the let go the wheel will spin back for me after the turn and im good to go.. now i gotta do the extra step and turn it back to the center after the turn.. get it?? sort of?


yea i seen the seafoam stuff. The thing is a did manually flush it out myself less then a year ago with the diy here but decided to get it done again couple months later because maybe i didnt do it right the first time...

 

Are you sure it's black again? Shine a LED flashlight through the side of the reservoir and compare before and after refill. If you only take out and refill the reservoir, it takes a few times for the fluid to stay clear; as said above.

 

i think so...

and even with absolutely shitty alignment angles (with what is adjustable on the TL) it should still start to return by itself




next questions....
mileage on the car?
has ANY type of like P/S stop leak EVER been put into the car, due to a leak in the system or so (kinda the same shit as for coolant/radiator, blocks passages up including the leak at times)?
has the steering rack ever been damaged in an accident?


but by the way you are making it sound, either a passage is blocked in the rack, or a seal is f@ck (and personally i am leaning more towards a blocked passage, not allowing the assist pressure to "release" holding the wheel in said position)


next thing is let's get that fluid clean, when "flushing" it, normally i have the car running, then i suck out almost all the fluid in the reservor, then refill it with fresh fluid, turn the wheel back and fourth a couple of times to help bring the dirty fluid stuck in the rack out (it does not circulate in the system with the wheels straight fyi), then i basically repeat the process till the fluid comes out relatively clean/clear


also buying the fluid from the dealer is not necessary
http://www.valvoline.com/products/co...ring-fluid/109

 

acura states the method as I described above--you dont empty the res and think thats doing anything
you REMOVE THE FLUID VIA THE PRESSURE RETURN LINE with engine running while turning steering lock to lock

stop mixing new and old fluid--get the old out!
the few seconds its run dry- with no load- will not hurt the ps
refill- burp as you add more fluid
when full: start all over until crud fluid is done,
and new fluid comes back out the return line!

 

if you use the special seafoam for rack- read and follow directions
it calls for a few flushes after its been used!

 

we use a special machine from the company BG which i sware by....you do it with the car running it comes with a cleaner as well...you put 2 small hoses in the ps res...one pumps one sucks and the fluid comes out crystal clear...

04 is right though...you just keep adding clean fluid to dirty lol...u still have fluid in the rack hoses and lines...

i still wouldnt do it the way acura recommends beucase it will be messy...i would see if you could take it to the dealer and have them peform the service i just stated if your willing to pay of course...all i have to say about it is its awsome lol performed on all my honda/acuras..a lot of people think its a joke calling it a bs service but its not

 

bg makes good cleaners for all parts of the car

Its not too bad a DIY with the right hose and a catch can

customers dont believe they need brake fluid flush- why would the steering need it--
for how much!!!

 

you and your seafoam

 

cmon fries-- Im trying to be as fair as possible!! bg makes good stuff, so does redline and a few others~
I would like to see this machine for ps flush