Stupid Question Regarding Power Steering Fluid
Discussion
My predicament: Dodgy rack on the Focus pisses power steering fluid at the rate of about 2 litres a week. I'm getting it and the pump replaced in about 3 weeks time.
I've got to drive from Watford to Luton at 5am tomorrow morning, and the reservoir is pretty much empty, I'm all out of fluid (Dexron ATF) and no shops/petrol stations nearby stock it that will be open at 5am.
What will happen if I pour 5w30 or 10w40 oil into it, bearing in mind it will have effectively self-drained by the end I play tomorrow...at which point I can top it up with Dexron.
Am I being a nonce?
I've got to drive from Watford to Luton at 5am tomorrow morning, and the reservoir is pretty much empty, I'm all out of fluid (Dexron ATF) and no shops/petrol stations nearby stock it that will be open at 5am.
What will happen if I pour 5w30 or 10w40 oil into it, bearing in mind it will have effectively self-drained by the end I play tomorrow...at which point I can top it up with Dexron.
Am I being a nonce?
How is your steering oil pump driven? If it runs dry it will likely sieze. If it's driven via a belt from the engine then is there anything else which is driven by the belt? If the pump siezes then the belt breaks, what else do you loose the functionality from.
I'm more inclined to leave it at home, with that amount of oil you're leaking and you putting the point up on the internet you've opened yourself up to a claim if there happened to be an accident on the same road you were dribbling all over. It's the way of the world now, unfortunately.
Hire a cheap car for the 2-3 weeks and get the car fixed.
I'm more inclined to leave it at home, with that amount of oil you're leaking and you putting the point up on the internet you've opened yourself up to a claim if there happened to be an accident on the same road you were dribbling all over. It's the way of the world now, unfortunately.
Hire a cheap car for the 2-3 weeks and get the car fixed.
Man from UNCLE said:
Two litres of oil a week is a lot to be leaving on the roads behind you. I'd be more worried about the pissed off motorcyclists than I would about what sort of oil was in it. Why don't you just drive it with no power steering? You're only driving about eighteen miles.
That's the thing - it only really seems to leak when the car is parked up. For example, a couple of weeks ago I drove 250 miles to West Wales, and I possibly lost about 100ml the whole way. I left it overnight...big puddle.Edited by Big News on Thursday 21st April 07:28
Well, it needed surprisingly little fluid this morning, but I put a dash of 5w30 in there...pump was quiet as anything, steering perfectly smooth. No real leakage over the 40 miles (maybe about 5mm loss reading off the reservoir). It will no doubt wet itself over the course of being parked up today, so it will be completely flushed through with Dexron by a couple of days or so.
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