Some background. It's been almost 10 years since the truck was manufactured, I've had it 8 years now (it sat on the dealer lot for 1.5 years).

Steering started a slight whine, so I figured it was time for the well-known power steering synthetic fluid flush, that is/was talked about here over the years.

I decided to use Mobil 1 Synthetic Automatic Transmission Fluid, since it said it met Mercon V specs, just like the original fluid was Mercon. Definitely smells like it had friction modifiers in it like Mercon V is supposed to have.

So, the procedure is listed in the service manual, and there are various posts with the exact service manual procedure but here's my shortened version. WARNING - this is for a 2001 V10, with vacuum boosted brakes, not diesel with Hydro-Boost. It does not include any diesel instructions on bleeding the hydro-boost, so if you have a diesel, don't even bother reading this procedure

1) Remove entire air box for room, which requires disconnecting the MAF.
2) Using a vacuum pump with a reservoir, or a turkey baster, pull as much fluid out of the reservoir as possible.
3) Unbolt the reservoir from the inner fender.
4) Disconnect smaller hose (return line from the pump) from the bottom of the reservoir, plug the reservoir port with a nipple or piece of hose with a bolt in it, whatever you need to keep it from dripping onto the fender well.
5) Insert small return hose into a 2lb coffee can. Service manual says to put an extension hose on it, but I was able to, with the air box removed, just put a coffee can in the space and hang the hose in the can.
6) With the front wheels off the ground, cycle the steering back and forth until there is no more fluid coming out of the return line. I let it sit for a few minutes, then cycled it back and forth again, and still got some more fluid out. Eventually, nothing but air.
7) Reconnect return line to reservoir, bolt it back to the inner fender, and fill with fluid.
8) Cycle steering (WITH ENGINE OFF) a lot, while keeping the reservoir full to bleed out as much air as possible. Again, wait a few minutes, and cycle the steering again, to get as much air out as possible.
9) Reinstall air box, reconnect MAF and if you have the stock air box, make sure the rubber plug where the MAF wiring goes through is fully inserted into the bottom of the air box and STAYS THERE. If not, glue it.
10) Start engine, cycle steering with the wheels still off the grond, check reservoir level. I didn't have much air/foam show up, so cycling the steering with the engine off bled the system very well.

Used less than 2 qts of fluid.

Results:

1) No more whine. I do hear some hissing when steering when stopped that I didn't have before (it actually whined), but I think that's just the synthetic acting differently.

2) Didn't improve the power assist a whole lot, if at all, but I wasn't looking for that anyway, I wanted to get rid of the whine.

3) NO MORE WANDERING ON THE ROAD. Seriously. It seems to have made the steering much more stable. Whether it's because the power assist is fighting back against outside forces better, or because it's NOT fighting them as much, I don't know, but overall whenever I hit a bump in the road, pothole, whatever, I don't get the "wobble" I used to get.

I do have a Rancho steering stabilizer, which is still good, but over time I got the mild bump-steer back. Check the stabilizer, still good. Highway wander was pretty bad at one point, I adjusted the steering box and took out a lot of play, which helped to control it a whole lot, but overall, it would still wander like it needed an alignment, and when I hit bumps it would have a mind of it's own.

Now? It drives straight down the road on the highway and local. When I hit a bump, it's not a crap-shoot as to where it's going to be headed afterwards, it still tracks perfectly straight.

The ONLY thing done was this power steering fluid flush.

Your mileage may vary.

Note: The power steering fluid smelled worse than the fluid in my tranny that is still the original fluid (35K miles and 8 years on it). After all this time, it appears that my power steering fluid took much more abuse than the tranny fluid.

 

This is something I have to do also. My fluid is 6 YO time for change. I'll try your procedure and make shure its right.

 

I'll give it a go here in the near future. Mine has never been changed. It does whine some and the whole truck jumps all over the place on our choppy interstates here. Get in a tight spot and it is just like it hadn't any power steering. In fact the power steering isn't really great period. Sure as hell isn't like a 79 truck that was effortless. Maybe the flush might help some.

 

I have heard the flush helps with the power assist, but mine doesn't seem to be much different, not that I notice. The wandering thing though, MAJOR improvement.

 

Didn't you just do a Red Head box? I thought that was the fix?

 

Not me, I'm running the stock box, with only about 35K miles on the entire truck.

 

Hmmm... this is interesting. While mine is a diesel, I bet you guys might have an idea...

When I use my brakes alot (like in a parking lot), my steering becomes stiff and I have to make sure the RPM's are up or the it's almost impossible to turn. As long as the brakes have been left alone awhile, the steering is fine. It's kinda like those older hydraulic tractors... you have to have the RPM's up on the motor, or the hydraulic assist is VERY stiff. Any ideas? The pump is a reman that my dad put on when he had the truck. So far, any reman part I've ever used has been a piece of junk. I guess they don't make anything like they used to. But I also am aware that the brakes and the steering run off the same pump... is that just the nature of the beast?

And I'm with you on the old 70's Fords... my dad's got an old '78 Fairmont Futura and you could turn the wheel with your little finger!

 

john my dads 2000 diesel is the same way, driving around your fine but if hes trying to park or back up a boat or trailer the truck doesnt want to turn unless you have the rpms way up. i too would like to know how to fix his truck cuz hes b-day is around the cornor and im broke so a cheap fix would be great

 

Try the diesel forum for the Hydro-Boost flush - I've heard good things when people do the synthetic change over.

 

Subscribing to make finding this thread easier when I get around to doing this. Reps to you Art

 

thanks Krewat!

I was just looking under my hood last week and thinking that I need to replace my lines/hoses; now I know how to jump in and do the job right

J

 

How did you manage to jack the entire front end to have both wheels off the ground?

 

Use 2 jacks.

Or grab a couple of pieces of sheet metal and drive the tires up on the metal on a concrete surface. Keep your feet clear of the moving metal, but it should allow the wheels to turn side to side on pavement. I did mine on a gravel drive and just let the tires dig holes in the ground.

 

I ended up managing to pull it off with one jack...I jacked it up using the blocker beam that comes on the front of Excursions. Good ideas though and thanks for the quick reply

 

Simple: JACK STANDS.

If you are working on a truck, or any vehicle for that matter, and relying solely on the jack to hold up the vehicle, well, let's just say "unsafe" to be nice