Flushing the power steering system

by Ian Buckley

I thought I would report on the power steering flush on my 1996,CS, 2.3LPT.

I did the job based on the guidelines given on the Quasimotors site. I am glad I did because what came out was best described as 'spew' (no carrots though!)

This is how I did the job.

Car on jackstands

Disconnect fluid return (lower) pipe from reservoir carefully and join this pipe to about 1 metre of garden hose using a piece of metal pipe that fits into both ends. Put the end into an old oil container of 4 or 6 litres placed on the ground to the front or side of the car.

When you disconnect this pipe, fluid will leak out and I had an old towel underneath to soak this up. Remember to remove the towel!! I also plugged the reservoir with a short piece of hose just pushed on and a bolt lightly screwed into it.

I used 3 litres (plus) of the Saab fluid keeping a little for Ron (later on).

Have your new fluid ready, and I mean ready, because once the engine is started the reservoir empties much more quickly than I anticipated. I would now recommend putting all your 1 litre containers into 1 larger container so you can keep filling the reservoir without panicking like I did.

Your assistant then starts the engine and the fluid change begins as the steering is being turned from lock to lock. Have them turn the engine off before the reservoir empties to mimimise any air getting into the system.

It is now time to reconnect the hoses and clean up the mess. There will be more fluid loss while you remove the plug from the return orifice and reconnect the return pipe. Use the old towel or rag again.

Don't start the engine after reconnecting the return pipe without the cap on the reservoir or it will instantly overflow!!

Make sure the reservoir is filled to the correct level, install the cap and have your assistant turn the steering from lock to lock to purge any air from the system.

Lower the car and test drive it.

My car is fairly low mileage (60,000miles) and I was amazed at what came out during this operation. My fluid is still a little cloudy and I wish I could have used more fluid but it is very expensive. Quasimotors recommend 4 to 6 litres and this is probably about right.

My reservoir has a filter just below the cap which I removed during this operation. I didn't fit a new filter because Adelaide SAAB said they had never sold one and the price was prohibitive.
I cleaned the filter which did not look dirty despite the colour of the fluid and reinstalled it.

These jobs are always easier second time around.