Thread: P/S still not working:

I changed the power steering pressure hose on my B14 today. Had some trouble, but finished it. After everything is connected, I put fluid in(car is off), and then turn it on to fill up the rest of it with p/s fluid. I find out my car isnt turning with power steering and it seems like it isnt draining any fluid from the resvoir. Does anyone have an idea why it wouldnt work. Nothing is leaking btw also. The leak was the problem to begin with. No what, is my question. Any tips or ideas?

correct me if im wrong, but aren't our p/s systems supposed to use atv fluids, not p/s fluid? I know if thats the case, p/s fluid can do bad things inside the pump over time.

Never heard of that. But now you have me wondering. Is anyone certain about this?

http://www.sr20-forum.com/general-sr20/41053-what-effects-power-steering-fluid-our-cars.html

Thats the thread I was looking for. Short answer: P/S fluid is bad.

they use atf fluid dextron III to be exact

You may just need to bleed the system a bit. to do this, turn on the car, take the cap off the reservoir and turn the wheel lock to lock about 5 times to get the fluid moving. check the level in the reservoir. if its all frothy, that means there is air in the system which is an indicator that it needs to be bleed. so just keep repeating these steps, add more fluid if the level goes down and eventually all the air bubbles will work their way to the reservoir.

Had this saved to Word. Not sure where I got it from so my apologies to whoever wrote this.

THE CORRECT WAY TO BLEED THE POWER STEERING
I've been lucky in not having to deal with any PS problems other than a few leaks around the cooler and the stupid B13 res tank, why that isn't sealed for hard cornering is just stupid. B14 tank on my list...
Jack front of car up so its easy to steer - remove ps reservoir cap

do NOT START THE CAR and do it with the KOEO (key on eng off)
with the engine running the fluid gets aerated and if you ever worked with a ps system - you'd know that the fluid takes 15-15 mins to settle down once its been stirred up. with the engine running you wont get the tiny bubbles out -

turn wheel to left and hold at leftmost lock for 5-10 secs -

turn back to right and hold at lock for 5-10 secs -

repeat 10-15 times and it'll be done (or if u have the machine we have here at work you hook it up and 5 mins later its done)

with the engine running you wont get the tiny bubbles out -

Power steering is overrated...take it out and no more worries.

Truth. Previous owner of my 200 put regular p/s fluid in and rather than fix it i just removed it. Don't really need to have it on our cars, the wheels are easy to turn as it is without it

Ive been toying with the idea of removing my p/s but im not sure what the best way to do it is... Well i know the way id LIKE to do it, which is to run only one belt with the alternator mounted where the p/s pump was. But idk how much work that is and if it can be done with the engine in the car.