Originally Posted by tomw0
FX4, maybe you missed the point. Normal aging of lubricants subjected to heat and high pressure will make the lube deteriorate over time, just as noted. The need for an automatic transmission 'flush' is to break loose, circulate, and remove 'deposits' of broken friction material, worn thrust washers, worn valve body material, and other things in an automatic transmission. The need for a coolant flush is, as you stated, to compensate for neglect of the cooling system, which is to say, to break loose, circulate, and remove sludge, rust, scale, and who knows what. A maintained system, with decent drain & refill with fresh coolant should not need a flush in normal operation. IMO, my own opinion. A power steering pump just does not have things that will break down, and form deposits that are harmful. If you have taken one apart, you won't find any deposits. The fluid, over time, can start to break down, mostly due to heat. Draining and refilling with fresh fluid will for the most part, take care of any detritus that is in the fluid. I have taken pumps apart, and found zero deposits, and that in a pump that had gone ~200k miles. The reservoir seal O-ring had hardened and was allowing seepage. The fluid was mildly 'stinky', or slightly burned by odor test. I have done power steering 'booster' cylinders used on way older cars, and they just didn't have 'stuff' that needed flushing. This is all anecdotal, and I have no stats to affirm or deny, but I don't think a power steering system 'flush' is something I'd spend money on. Again, just my own opinion and experience. tom
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