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Power Steering issues

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This thread may not be in the right area, and I apologize ahead of time if it is? I have not heard of this problem on the board before but here goes,I live in Michigan and sometimes it gets quite cold up here, when my truck (200 CTD 2 wd) sits outside at work in the cold (it was 6* F today) and I start the truck I get a terrible growl from the power steering system. The noise seems to be from the fluid being to cold/thick?. Is this a common problem? Is there a thinner power steering fluid available? This afternoon I started the truck and let it idle for 1/2 hr before leaving work to try and warm the oil some to no avail.....The darn thing growled all the way home, 6 miles... Yes the reservoir is full of fluid, but thanks for asking. Any help would be appreciated. Randy

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Have you flushed the PS fluid? PS fluid is likly the most neglected fluid in a vehicle, as its never thought about until something is wrong. I just flushed mine with Amsoil ATF last month, and WOW... what a difference. Good synthetic fluid is a huge improvement when its cold out. What year is your truck? Some 2nd gens appear to use a specific power steering fluid and others use ATF. All I can tell from your original post is 200x?

  • Owner

As far as what I can find in the Factory Service Manual (Dodge, Mitchell1, and AllData) it should be power steering fluid...

As far as what I can find in the Factory Service Manual (Dodge, Mitchell1, and AllData) it should be power steering fluid...

Then that is what I would go with!! The Amsoil PS fluid is rumored to be very good stuff... just a little pricey, but I have never priced PS fluid, all my rigs use ATF.
  • Owner

ATF as far as I know won't hurt the system if you use it... I've seen several truck localy use ATf in the power steering. I use to use it in my old 1972 dodge because ATF was cheap and it had a small leak...

PS fluid is likly the most neglected fluid in a vehicle, as its never thought about until something is wrong.

That goes along with brake fluid... :stuned:

That goes along with brake fluid... :stuned:

Yep... mine is getting flushed this spring.. I just had the wifes 03 runner flushed last month.

and for newbie's like myself....what is the proper way to flush w/o damage and making the pavement my oil disposer?

  • Author

Yes, I would have the same question, what is the process to "flush" the p/s system? Thanks.

What I do to flush mine out and have since the truck was bought by me is this.... I use a turkey baster and at each service I drain out the PS fluid resevoir with it.Then I fill the resevoir with new Amsoil PS fliud.The PS system is then kept from allowing moisture to contaminate it and causing the issues your having right now.It has worked flawlessly for me for over 200k and when its gets cold I have no issues with mine at all.As a matter of fact I still have the original factory steering box on my truck yet to this day and the truck now has over 220k on it......Andy

I could I use that write up over here as a static page? That really good write up and how to flush the system... Matter of fact its the same as how I do mine...

Where would be a good place to post it? I have some other 3rd gen tech articles I could put up too.
  • Owner

Just make new threads and send me a PM of the post link. Then I convert it to HTML and add it to the site as a permanent page... I'd be glad to post up your works. Might have t ocreate a few stickies and get the 3rd Gen area boosted up... Didn't mean to hijack the thread carry on crew! :rolleyes:

thats strange, mine does not have a cooler for the P/S

The 2001 service manual says specifically not to use ATF.

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Welcome To Mopar1973Man.Com LLC

We are privately owned, with access to a professional Diesel Mechanic, who can provide additional support for Dodge Ram Cummins Diesel vehicles. Many detailed information is FREE and available to read. However, in order to interact directly with our Diesel Mechanic, Michael, by phone, via zoom, or as the web-based option, Subscription Plans are offered that will enable these and other features.  Go to the Subscription Page and Select a desired plan. At any time you wish to cancel the Subscription, click Subscription Page, select the 'Cancel' button, and it will be canceled. For your convenience, all subscriptions are on auto-renewal.