Hi

I'm working on a friend's TP first gen Magna. He needs to flush the power steering.

I understand I need 4 litres of Dextron III, which I have to keep filling the reservoir with while the return pipe (disconnected) drains it into another container. That should get out any impurities. The other thing is to flush it before replacing the power steering rack, so that the new rack is being introduced to a clean system.

My question is - which is the return pipe? And where should it be disconnected from, pump or rack?

I also have two red Nolathane mounting bushes to install with the new rack. The old bushes were too worn according to Fulcrum.

Some mechanics have said that I shouldn't use Magna Transmission Oil for Power Steering Fluid because the first gen stuff has additives to protect the clutches and solenoids in it that aren't good for general hydraulic use. It does say Dextron II in the Gregory's Manual however and Dextron III was recommended by Fulcrum. Does anyone think a "real" power steering fluid is any better? It's under two litres of hydraulic fluid so I guess who cares what type it is right? I have no idea on that one.

The other question I have is do I turn the steering wheel from lock to lock while flushing it or just turn on the engine and let the pump circulate the fluid? I turned the wheel from lock to lock to bleed it and that worked well but what about flushing?

remove power steering rack
full passenger lock on the rack
undo powersteering oil pipes at the rack 17 MM
(dont loose or damage the 0 rings or threads)
pull back the boot at the bottom of the steering column in the engine bay
undo the nut of the universal joint at the steering rack
spread the split yoke at the bolt hole .

under the car

undo exhaust pipe (at the manifold) 14 MM
undo the chassis brace front engine mount and (shock if there is one) 14 MM
undo the holding brackets of the rack and pinion sterring unit 17 MM
let the unit drop down
slide as far over to the passenger side

then clear from the body driverside
and slide the unit out at the drivers side of the car

refitting is in the reverse
------------------------------------------------------------------------

bleeding the system
dont let the reservior run dry
With the motor running
go from lock to lock to expell the air bubbles

then check the dipstick

The bushes go around the rack and are covered by the brackets with the steering gear mounting bolts going through them. This is what they look like:

(IMG:http://www.nolathane.com.au/photos/41092.jpg)

You flush the system before you put the new rack in to clear the hoses of any debris from shattered seals and just general impurities. That way you have a clean system before the new rack is introduced.

My repair manual (Gregorys) says 980ml. I called Mitsubishi themselves who said they have been told not to use Dextron III anymore as it has additives unsuitable for power steering hydraulics. They sell their own power steering fluid for under $10 a litre so I bought two of them.

When I installed the rack, I didn't turn it to the passenger side beforehand as I hadn't read this post. Big mistake as it is much harder to extricate from the car if not turned fully to that side.

The problem I had after installation and bleeding was a leak at one of the hoses, because the system found the next weakest link after the formerly leaking rack itself was fixed with the new rack. The leak was quite strong so I am working on getting a new hose now.

I got a wheel alignment a few days ago at a Goodyear and they said the rack had been installed wrongly.

Apparently, it was supposed to be centralised by turning the pinion with multigrips full lock and then to the other lock and counting the number of turns. Then turn it back to centre by halving that number.

Because I didn't do that, it is way over to one side, but Goodyear also said it is still safe. I asked if I could take it out and fix it and get the wheels aligned again but they wanted to be paid again for that. So I asked if it would last six months, which is about how long I want to wait before my next wheel alignment. They said that would be ok so I'm doing that. That is, I'll remove and centralise the rack and steering column before I get that wheel alignment in six months.

Does anyone have any opinions on all of this? There was no mention of centralising the rack in any of the advice here.

the difference is the tie rod ends had to be adjusted unevenly
one side uses less threads than the other side .. but still safe


If there is a problem during a wheel alignment
some shops will fix the problem
by taking the steering wheel off the spline inside the car
then re adjust the tie rod ends so the rack is correct then
refit the steering wheel so it is sitting correctly

Yes they did take the steering wheel off the splines and aligned it precisely. It's dead-on straight. The proprietor also mentioned something about modern cars preventing steering wheel removal due to airbags.

The work they did and tires they supplied are first rate. I won't be taking my car to anyone else for a while.

A lot of workshops won't even tell you if something is wrong which means you have no idea.