Power Steering Fluid

[chilkoot]

I haven't touched the PS fluid on this car since I've gotten it (~4k miles ago) and was going to do a series of reservoir pump outs and refills to slowly replace the old fluid in lieu of trying a full flush. will I have problems if I grabbed some random dexron/mercon/II/II/everything else ATF from Wal-Mart and slowly mix it in with whatever is already in there? The pump/pinion/rack were replaced about 30k miles ago at a dealership, but i've only owned the car for the last 4k miles so there's no telling with what, if anything, that fluid has been swapped out with for the last few years. Is there any danger in this, and does brand really matter when using ATF for a power steering system as long as its properly rated?

Also, as long as we're on power steering, I have the service report from when the pump/pinion/rack were replaced, and on it there is an item titled 'valve assy, air cont', but it's only listed as $115.12, what is this most likely to be, and is the idle valve still possibly an issue needing addressing?

thanks in advance for any help

[CUMan]

Every two to three months, I withdraw about 4-5 ounces of fluid from the PS reservoir and replace it with the same amount of new Dexron III. I have been doing this for many years, and it keeps the fluid looking good. The fluid withdrawn does not look as clean as the new fluid, but almost.

No doubt there will be a lot of opinions about which Dexron to use; however, these are only opinions, and I doubt anyone can prove that any one brand is better than another. I use Valvoline from Wal-Mart, but I would have no reservations about using their Supertech brand. All Dexron III fluids have to meet the same standards.

The $115.00 charge was probably the air control valve, which screws into the bottom of the PS pump. As you may know, this valve is notorious for leaking. This causes PS fluid to be drawn into the intake manifold and burned, causing a cloud of white smoke most obvious when the engine is cranked.

[chilkoot]

Every two to three months, I withdraw about 4-5 ounces of fluid from the PS reservoir and replace it with the same amount of new Dexron III. I have been doing this for many years, and it keeps the fluid looking good. The fluid withdrawn does not look as clean as the new fluid, but almost.

No doubt there will be a lot of opinions about which Dexron to use; however, these are only opinions, and I doubt anyone can prove that any one brand is better than another. I use Valvoline from Wal-Mart, but I would have no reservations about using their Supertech brand. All Dexron III fluids have to meet the same standards.

The $115.00 charge was probably the air control valve, which screws into the bottom of the PS pump. As you may know, this valve is notorious for leaking. This causes PS fluid to be drawn into the intake manifold and burned, causing a cloud of white smoke most obvious when the engine is cranked.

this is what I was hoping to hear, on both counts, my biggest concern was if there was already some incorrect fluid in there having a partial mixture of old incorrect and new correct. for some reason I seemed to recall the ACV being around $400 to replace, so $115 didn't seem quite right.

I also noticed something in the service records of which i had previously been remiss: the o2 sensors were changed in '01 by a dealer with OEM equipment. this explains the conspicuously absent TRAC light that so many 1st gens have. oh happy day!

though I also noticed on one of the jiffy lube sheets it specifically noted "oil sludge in engine". guess i'm seafoaming my engine, oil and tank tomorrow.