My Ford Dealer told me that I need to change the power steering fluid on my 02 Explorer. He said it wasn't bright red anymore and recommend spending $110 to flush and refill the system. I said "no" because I've never had to replace the fluid in any of my cars. It isn't even in the manual as a maintenance item. I got it home and began thinking it couldn't hurt anything to change it every few years or so.

Does anyone know the proper procedure to change the power steering fluid?

 

Never heard of a procedure for that. Maybe you could empty the reservoir with a turkey baster and refill a few times with some driving in between? I'm thinking about doing that with my wife's Windstar because the PS fluid doesn't look all that great. Not as good as a complete drain and refill, but alot better than nothing.

 

That's the way I do it. This way dosn't give a full transfer of fluid, but it keeps the possible leaks (from removing hoses) to a mimimum.