Power Steering Fluid

[jstantherprsn]

Hey Everyone,

I was going to drain the resevoir for the power steering. The manual says only use dexron 2 or dex 3. I already have dex 2/dex 3 merc atf fluid sitting around because of the jeep. I pulled the cap and looked at the fluid. It doesn't resemble anything red. I've seen spent dex after like 200k miles. This stuff from already in the power steering isnt red. It looks like conventional power steering fluid. Anyone know anything about this?

[slow.yaris]

lol what color is the ATF you have, and what color is the stuff in the reservoir? Might be more helpful than telling us what color they aren't ;)

[Tamago]

power steering fluid should not be confused with ATF

[Nexus1155]

Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF works well for my power steering fluid. Quiets it down too. Watch out, it smells like cat piss

[CTScott]

The Echo service manual says ATF Dexron II or III for the power steering fluid as well. Maybe the OEM fluid doesn't contain the dye.

[jstantherprsn]

The stuff in the resvoir now is clear. The stuff I have is red. I've never seen dex without the red color.

[CTScott]

A quick search for "dexron power steering fluid" brings up many products that are power steering fluid that "meets Dexron II/III requirements". Looking at the MSDS for a few shows them all to be red. Searching for "toyota power steering fluid clear red" yields many threads on various forums with people asking the same question. It appears that the Toyota OEM fluid is clear, but most aftermarket fluids are red or blue.

[jstantherprsn]

tricky, tricky. The service manual though doesn't say what level to fill to. I would say probably to the highest point on the cold call out on the cap dipstick.

[mik23]

Hi All

I have brownish colour should I change this.

thanks