My stearing is wining alot. I have been adding Power stearing fluid every so often, but only a small bit, as there is still fluid in there. However, when i add it, i can see the old stuff still in there, and its really dark brown. is there a way to drain the fluid resivior so that i can add all new fluid to it?

 

yes, search Aero forum for power steering fluid change
pull rubber return line to pump off steel line from rack distribution block mounted on stub frame under engine. plug end of rubber line to pump reservior, run rubber hose extension from steel line end into drain pan, suck out reservior with turkey baster...fill with top quality synthetic Mercon ATF...i use Mobil 1 ATF...takes only a couple quarts to flush and fill...$10 well spent compared to $100 pump or $200 rack replacement.
pull coil wire on 3L or pull computer control plug into coil pack on 4L so engine will not run...

I'm lazy and have no helper so I leave ignition active and just start engine and turn back off...have not damaged pump yet and have used my lazy technique on half dozen vehicles out beyond 150k-200k miles with no pump or rack failures...your mileage and luck may vary...

approved safe method...
have partner crank engine and stop when fluid quits pouring out into drain pan....refill pump reservior...crank engine again....refill until fluid coming out is a nice titty pink like new...
replace hoses and use stainless steel hose clamps
put in a couple ounces of LubeGuard "red"...pu at tranny shops or carried by some auto parts stores...also put in an inline filter auto tranny type in the return neoprene hose....avail at most larger tranny rebuild shops and online
you're done.

how's the ATF in the tranny look and smell?

 

'96 has hit it on the head.

A little background for you, Ford PS systems have been noisy for a long time. Even the Factory repair manual says to replace PS fluid with ATF fluid to quite them down. For some reason the PS fluid does not cut it and causes premature wear and on the system if not flushed regularly. Switch the ATF and you will be happy.


Also when was the last time plugs and wires were changed?

 

wow... didn't know that about the manual saying so. by chance is the PS fluid compatable with the ATF? or is a full drain in order before making the switch?

 

If you take a look at PS fluid, it is a lighter grade of ATF. Yes they are compatible, but a full drain is recomended to get rid of any contaminance in the system.

 

I thought so, just wanted to be sure. thanks again 'hawk.

 

Gentlemen,

I would truly like to remove the cat-going-down-the-disposal-tail-first character of my aero in turns, does any of this REALLY work. I have flushed and refilled so many times because of my pre-hat water contamination and people still pull off to the side of the road thinking they hear an ambulance coming. someone please give me directions to the volume control on that p/s pump.

Ken

 

pump or overpressure relief valve damaged by water corrosion?
flushing with new fluid only helps if fluid has broken down, overloaded with wear or hose contaminates or recent water in system causing foaming.

 

ken, any chance of the pump itself being damaged in the past. previous water contamination, being run dry or any other equally heinous errors? this might explain the volume of your whine.

 

I ran across this CarDone PDF today:

(click on image for larger)
I wasn't able to find this TSB 96-7-19.

Also, in this CarDone PDF, they say:
That "500 mile break-in" thing is BS (did the pump need 500 miles to break-in when it rolled off the lot?). I've hung a couple of CarDone Aero PS pumps on my Aeros, and none of them ever got quieter after thousands of miles.

My opinion is that they're just very bad pumps, but I pass this along for others who haven't (yet) come to that conclusion.

 

I once installed type-F fluid into my PS pump by mistake, and it got noticeably quieter. When I found my mistake, I replaced the fluid with the specified type (Mercon, I think), and the noise returned. In general, I think Ford's PS pump is just very noisy; the one on my Mustang is also noisy, even when new.

 

dude mine sounds like i have a super charger on my car (and at sound like i'm getting attacked by a cat at 5k+)

 

The "gutter thingy" that directs water was missing on my 'new' van, and it let tons
of water, which turned to ice, into the reservior...after doing a complete flush
as mentioned above by 964wd, I still have the moan.
I even made on an engine lathe an adapter so i could apply vacumm pump to the system, 20hg for 20 minutes while motor was running..my effort to get all air out.
I picked up a boneyard pump from donor that looked really clean under the hood,
and will throw that in in the spring. It's fluid did NOT have water in it.
You do know about the severed coke can on top, right?

 

once the chamber walls and the rotor fins in a ovoid vane ps Ford pump are corroded and worn from water or failed fluid, there is only one way to get a quiet pump again.
replace with a quality rebuild or quality new.

 

I got the filler extender used on the Tempo I think. This fits as replacement for the fill cap extending the fill spout up closer .It comes with a longer dip stick. No mess and easy to fill. It is colored yellow. My pump squaks a lot put still maintains pressure.