Did Power Steering Flush on my 03 WS

Hello all,

I want to thank everyone who has posted something here- it has been quite helpful to me personally in understanding and reparing my own 2003 base model Windstar. This vehicle has been a real challenge, as many of you know- replaced the transmission at 67K, a new ABS module, a $500 alignment issue (one side was way out and the mechanic asked if it was in an accident-it wasn't), new tie rods, spark plugs and wires replacement at the dealer 'cause I couldn't get to the back ones (last time I'll do that- $295!!), and the passenger door power lock does not work anymore.

I have recently done the power steering flush as described in other places on this forum. I originally did the turkey baster suck-and-fill last month, but the fluid was still cooked-looking and smelling. The pump was replaced two years ago under warranty after we complained about the (now infamous) whine, but after a while the whine returned. I think I know why-due to Wiswind's description of the PS lines passing over the catalytic converter and heating up severely, I figured it'd be best to flush it out and get new fluid in there before I have to replace the pump or the rack due to contaminated fluids in there over a long time.

The reservoir removal itself, while it wasn't required, was quite a challenge. It's bolted to the coolant reservoir with an 8mm bolt, but the PS res has a badly placed bracket that gets in the way. It is VERY tight in there with the coolant res and the A/C canister in the way. It ended up being a 3-hour job with taking off the reservoir. It took nearly an hour to get the stupid bolt out; in between being hot (95 degrees!), sunburnt and dehydrated by the time it was out, I was more than a little frustrated. :banghead: I used a box-end wrench as suggested, but ended up using the closed side with my index finger pushing the wrench onto the bolt head. Getting around that bracket was the worst part. To get more clearance for my hand and the wrench, I removed the coolant return hose and lifted the PS hi-pressure feed hose (large hose on bottom of reservoir) out of the way. Once the bracket was out, I cut slots on either side of the bolt location with a hacksaw, then scored between them with a utility knife and used pliers to cleanly break off the piece, clearing room for the wrench next time. I have a clear picture of this if you'd like to see it. (http://good-times.webshots.com/album/559910075zvpiuu?track_pagetag=/page/photo/goodtimes/friendsfun&track_action=/Owner/ViewActions/FullAlbum) In the pic, you'll see the zip-tie I had to use to reattach the res. I couldn't figure out how to get the bracket around the (really fat) rubber grommet, so I zip-tied it back to the coolant res at the end of the job; it's solidly on there and isn't going anywhere, but I wouldn't mind doing it right. If anyone can help me with that, I'd appreciate it!

Once the bolt was out, I couldn't get the feed hose off of the res, so I pulled it off of the pump (photo link above). You WILL spill fluid, so make sure you have lots of rags covering the belt; I still got a bit on mine.

Once the res was out, I cleaned out the screen as suggested elsewhere in this forum, and also found that there was a lot of debris and sludge clogging the filter screen. I'm moving in a few weeks and didn't want to get a large container of the suggested denatured alcohol, so I used Goo Gone liquid (it was ethyl alcohol-close enough) as it was in a small container. I plugged the holes, poured in the alcohol and shook the res, pouring it back out of the top to get out the crap. The screen is now nice and clean! No chemicals to properly dispose of either, EPA be damned.

Once the res was back in, I left the return hose (small one on top) off to attach the flush tubing. The flush itself was fairly straightforward- 10' of 3/8" clear tubing from Home Depot, spread a bit at the end to accomodate the return hose, and into a 5-gallon bucket. A daughter to plug the return nozzle on the res with a pointy glue cap and a funnel in the res, I had my wife start and immediately stop the van (couldn't get out the fuel pump relay) while turning the wheel. One time she kept it on too long and emptied the reservoir. The rest of the flush was foamy and noisy until the air was flushed out. I used Mobil 1 ATF as suggested elsewhere; hopefully it will hold up better to the heat it's subjected to.

If you're having trouble with your flush or are just afraid to get started, send me a message. I'll help you as best I can.

I also did the flush procedure this past friday on my 2000 3.8 and everything went well. sounds to me like you did too much which costed you all that time and headache. forget the baster method, it doesnt work nearly as well the full flush. heres what I did:
1. bought 2 quarts of Mobil 1(full synthetic)
2. 3/8" clear hose from Homedepot
3. brass fittings to connect the hoses
4. 3/8" vacuum plugs from Autozone (to plug the res.)

I didnt have to remove the res. I just disconnected the return hose and placed the vacuum plug in its place, this was essential in minimizing any oil spill (all i had was a couple of drops no where near the belt)
then i disconnected the fuse for the fuel pump which was the #5 fuse on the engine distribution block located next to the battery, this kept the engine from actually starting when I turned the key.
Then I turned the steering wheel all the way to the left and touch the ignition key for about 5-6 sec. then added fluid to the res.
turned the steering a few degrees to the right and touched the ignition again, i did this until I went from left to right then back left then right again all the while looking at the fluid coming out of the clear hose until the fuid was a nice clear red color. I slapped everthing back on and bled the system by turning the steering wheel back and fourth about 20 times.
Now my steering is smoother than before and no more infamous whine.

I also did the flush procedure this past friday on my 2000 3.8 and everything went well. sounds to me like you did too much which costed you all that time and headache. forget the baster method, it doesnt work nearly as well the full flush. heres what I did:


Hello MARZBX157, and thanks for reading my post. If you'll review what I wrote, I did actually do a full system flush, and not just a baster job. I ended up using 4 quarts of fluid to really make sure it was flushed but good, and it's a good thing I did, since air got in the system. I like your idea of vacuum plugs. I really had no idea how to plug it, and used the most expedient, simple thing I could think of. I honestly don't believe that I did too much; I was just a little inefficient due to my inexperience at this procedure.

I didnt have to remove the res. I just disconnected the return hose and placed the vacuum plug in its place, this was essential in minimizing any oil spill (all i had was a couple of drops no where near the belt)
then i disconnected the fuse for the fuel pump which was the #5 fuse on the engine distribution block located next to the battery, this kept the engine from actually starting when I turned the key.

Remember that I removed the reservoir to get out all of the sludge and solid material (like coffee grounds) clogging the filter screen down inside the reservoir. I didn't want to do a half-baked job, so I figured that getting that screen good and clean was a good way to ensure proper fluid flow through the system and extend the lifespan of the PS components. I would be willing to bet that if you've got 82K (like I do) or more, you'll see this stuff inside your PS res and would want to clean it out as well. Also remember that I tried to remove the fuel pump relay from the fuse block but was unsuccessful. I realize now that, by preventing the engine from turning over, it would have prevented the air from entering the system by being slower and easier to keep up with in filling the reservoir.

Now my steering is smoother than before and no more infamous whine.

Amen to that, brother!! :wink: I don't hear mine at all anymore, and it's smoother than ever.

Hey Dekeman, I can understand your reasons for getting that reservoir off if it was full of sludge. The PS fluid in mine looked like chocolate milk shake and I couldn't even tell the level because it was so dark. I just flushed and flushed until the screen in mine came out clean. The vacuum plug I used was made by Vacu-Tite and it really made things easy for me, You can find it at Auto zone or any Auto parts store and use it the next time you plan on flushing the ps again (I saved mine and plan on doing the flush every 30K with the tranny)
On another note, you stated that your door locks don't work on the pass side. Did you search this forum about that problem? I fixed both my front doors under 20 bucks. Here is the Link:
http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=439893

MARZBX157,

Thanks again for the vacuum plug idea- I'll pick one of them up for the next flush job! Hopefully you could get all the coffee ground-looking stuff out with a flush- I found that I had to rinse it and empty it out of the lid to get it all out. It is very clean and shouldn't need that treatment any time soon.

Thanks for the power lock link- that is something that is on the list as well as the belt that is so worn-looking in that picture. It's pinkish instead of black, but it still has the fabric pattern visible, no cracks and is only slightly glazed. I must admit to being slightly intimidated by the power locks. Getting the panels off and getting into the door isn't the problem- it's drilling out the actuators and hooking the rods up that look a little daunting.

That's the beauty about this fix, you don't have too remove anything. I just bought some wire splicers for about $2 and the universal door actuators for like $18 tapped in to the line in series with the original ones. Trust me follow Garync1 thread.

Dekeman,

I appreciate your post very much. I am actually wanting to do the flush myself. But when I went to the pictures url, you only had a picture of the modified res and just a general picture of the main hose.

Is there any way you can post a pic of the actual return hose to the res. I have an '03 myself and would really appreciate your help. I think from the rest of your post I can figure out what you actually did to flush the system.

I have read conflicting posts in terms of which hose to remove etc. I do not plan on removing the res and cleaning it out like you did. I hope the flush will take care of it by itself.

Thanks a bunch. I'm planning on doing it this afternoon and wanted to see if there is any last minute chance you could post it.

Hey folks,

I finally got the courage to do the flush of the power steering on my '03. It was not a horrible constant problem but after the car warms up and runs for a while, the whine comes.

So I took the advice of Dekeman and MARZBX157 and did a hybrid solution. I like Dekeman could not get the fuse box open so I went with the turn it on for a very short time method. I got a hold of a brass fitting but it was not very tight so that presented it's own problems. Next time I'll just put the return hose right into a container and have someone start and stop the car quickly while turning the wheel. The vacuum plugs were a good idea and it worked like a charm.

I just took it for a test drive and everything seems good. Only time will tell if everything is back to snuff. So far so good.

Thank you for all your valuable posts.

The way I flushed mine was I pulled off the return line, capped the resevoir, extened the return hose to a oil pan, then used a 5 quart bottle of trans fluid and funnel and filled the resevoir up. Had my son start it up and I poured the fluid in as the engine ran. If it got behind I had him shut the engine down. Do not do this by yourself or you will run it dry. I did this flush every six months and the whine has been gone for years now.

Hey mundy5- glad that my post helped someone out. Hopefully this will take care of the stupid whine that these vans get in the PS (BS?) system. You may be able to tell that I'm more than a little frustrated with this...this...thing. Sorry I didn't see your post from the 17th. Getting ready to deploy and it's CRAZY right now. I'm actually going to do the isolator bolt fix in the AM and was reading up on the forum. Haven't been able to keep up, so I'm glad that I saw this!

The only reason I would have recommended that you clean out the reservoir is that I had solid gunk in mine when I shook it out with the alcohol. It was clogging the filter screen that's in there. It made a big difference in the way the steering responded. I've done a suck-and-fill recently and it smoothed out some more.

First time poster here! Thanx for all the great ideas and it's nice when all the troubleshooting is already done for you!!!!

Well, did the flush solo. I used the plug on the return line (top hole)...beautiful! I just took the return line and dropped it into a gallon jug (no extension necessary). I disconnected the battery and unhooked the serpentine belt and just hand spun the PS pump manually. Only took me like 30 mins from start to finish. I made the mistake of filling the PS pump with PS fluid, but went ahead and got the Mercon V fluid this time. Im sure I'll need to do it again when I flush the tranny soon, but atleast I don't have what looks like used 80 weight anymore in the PS system!

Thanks all for the tips!

First time poster here! Thanx for all the great ideas and it's nice when all the troubleshooting is already done for you!!!!

Well, did the flush solo. I used the plug on the return line (top hole)...beautiful! I just took the return line and dropped it into a gallon jug (no extension necessary). I disconnected the battery and unhooked the serpentine belt and just hand spun the PS pump manually. Only took me like 30 mins from start to finish. I made the mistake of filling the PS pump with PS fluid, but went ahead and got the Mercon V fluid this time. Im sure I'll need to do it again when I flush the tranny soon, but atleast I don't have what looks like used 80 weight anymore in the PS system!

Thanks all for the tips!

Glad it worked out for you. And that was genius to hand-spin the pump- wish I had thought of that! It's past time for me to flush again, and rest assured I'll try to hand-spin mine as well. It really works so much better with new fluid in there!