thaeleelyr

Well, I did this too, before I rebuilt it, and it was at a high mileage. I didn't have any problems. I did read somewhere that synthetic "cleans" better than conventional and can result in grime/whatever being removed from a failing gasket or weak area resulting in a leak. Not sure how true that is, but if someone has dirty fluid that is at/near saturation with particles, it makes sense to me that this phenomenon can happen with any new fluid.

I used the Mobil synthetic.

fastnoypi

The manual calls for dexron III ATF fluid at the time of publishing. While there are some claims PS fluid is the same but not dyed on the net, i am skeptical. I would go with a dexron VI ATF since it is backwards compatible with dexron III. The regular red bottle Valvoline Maxlife without stop leak is really good stuff.

hsmac

i don't think there is red bottle valvoline maxllife without stop leak

fastnoypi

Yes there is. Go to Valvoline's site under ATF. You want the Maxlife Dex/Merc with no stop leak.

hsmac

that's ATF though and it's synthetic.

fastnoypi

Per my previous post,the manual calls for dexron type III ATF.
Maxlife ATF meets the requirements as a dexron type VI.

Read page 278 section 6-3 in your manual. Or download a manual at mylexus.com

hsmac

so the fluid generally needs to be changed? are drain and fills sufficient?

6.0PSD

Depending on how old the old fluid is drain and fill is the easiest but a full flush as described in this thread gives the system that much more new fluid.

When I did mine end of last fall, I drained then pulled reservoir off vehicle to thoroughly clean the filter mesh inside, filter was nearly completely clogged with sludge as the previous owner never serviced it in the 10 years they owned it and I completely missed it as a thing to do so I ran it as it was another 22k additional miles after I purchased. Surprising that the fluid was still flowing through that sludge. Took me almost an hour to completely remove all the sludge from inside the reservoir, should have just purchased a new one. I flushed the rest of system using motorcraft dexron III topped it off with the same and it has been so much smoother steering. Plan to flush it again this summer with motorcraft dexron III again. Wonder how bad the rest of the insides look like since the sludge was so bad in the reservoir.

Drain and refill should be fine if your system is currently clean and you do it once a year. Do thoroughly check the filter mesh inside your reservoir every time for any sign of sludge.

hsmac

thanks for the useful tip. i doubt mine's ever been changed after 150k but it looks clean at a glance. i didn't even know sludge could get inside power steering. i don't see any screen from the outside but i'll remove it and check once i get some fluid.

matts6887

Well; just because it may look clean does not mean it is. And especially if at over 150K if its never been changed its way overdue for it most likely. I just did a siphon out and refill with new power steering fluid on mine I think it was last fall sometime as mine was seriously dark and grimy. Plus; I think if im not mistaken; if u prolong it enough and dont change the fluid it can cause "issues" with the steering rack, etc At least thats what Ive been told by a expert source thats been in the business a very long time.

hsmac

what are the chances a leak will develop somewhere? i already have some import multi vehicle but was wondering if i should go buy some dex/merc with seal conditioners just for the additives. we actually have a camry that developed a leak in the rack.

matts6887

I would say not necessairily; I just put in some dex type III stuff that is made for toyota vehicles; and even with 154,000 and change miles on my rx; so far ive had no issues as far as leaks go. So i would just stick with what works and as long as u dont see any leaks I wouldnt worry about it for now.

hsmac

any way we could get these pictures back up?

fastnoypi

his last post was back in 2009, perhaps he moved on.

If you need visuals, here is a youtube that outlines the method. Note the upper and lower barbs on the power steering reservoir

Puttster

Anyone try this on a 1st gen RX300? Is it just as described for the Toyota?