ZX td steering fluid replacement HOW TO?

Dave1 · Post by **Dave1** » 15 Sep 2006, 11:06

I would like to replace the power steering fluid on the ZX (1.9td volcane manual) but cannot see a drain plug on the pump. Is it a case of removing the pipes to do this and any tips?

Thanks

Dave

citroenbx · Post by **citroenbx** » 15 Sep 2006, 19:31

The best way to do this is to Buy a Turkey Baseter and bulb out all the old fluid from the holding tank then turn the steering wheel a few times to dispell any in the pipes then simply fill with the the correct fluid and thats the job done.

If the steering feels heavy when new H-Oil is added start the engine and turn the wheels left/right to dispell any air.

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 15 Sep 2006, 22:38

Hmm, if its as simple as that I may just do it on the Zx 1.9d (mothers car now), well when we get moved into the house that is.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 16 Sep 2006, 08:32

Having replaced the pump on our 1.9D I can say with some authority that its apparently almost impossible to get the old fluid out.

I did dtry to expell it from the rack by turning the wheel from side to side - but while some came out there was still some left.

Haynes stated the capacity of the system was 1.7 litres - I must have replace 0.7 - but can't see that its worth doing anything else as its working properly now.

Why bother to change the fluid????

mezuk04 · Post by **mezuk04** » 16 Sep 2006, 20:20

Isnt power steering fluid something that gets 'dirty' after time and require replacement?

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 16 Sep 2006, 20:33

Never seen it listed anywhere.

Post by **CitroJim** » 16 Sep 2006, 22:16

I had mine leak out once on a 405 due to a duff ram. The reservoir tank completeley emptied and despite replacing the ram it still seemend to have enough fluid left in it to immediately discolour the new fluid so even loosening the pipes to the ram is not going to help much.

jeremy · Post by **jeremy** » 16 Sep 2006, 23:22

Which also means that flushing it won't do much good either as you'll never get the solvent out.

Turning the wheel did expel a little fluid - suppose I was expecting loads which never came.

Auto trans fluid contains 'friction modifiers' which are redundant in PAS - so if the fluid's old they've probably been used up or crushed - so what is the point of introducing more?

To be honest I was wondering what would happen if I used LHM - which doesn't have these modifiers (which could be like sand or something) - but decided I didn't want to wreck something and if my recon pump fails - I don't want to have to explain why its got green fluid in it!

Dave1 · Post by **Dave1** » 17 Sep 2006, 13:48

Seemingly all sounds a bit pointless then

Post by **CitroJim** » 17 Sep 2006, 19:48

jeremy wrote: To be honest I was wondering what would happen if I used LHM - which doesn't have these modifiers (which could be like sand or something) - but decided I didn't want to wreck something and if my recon pump fails - I don't want to have to explain why its got green fluid in it!

As nice as it sounds, I doubt if the seals in a non-LHM rack and pump are compatible with the stuff although the steering rams look pretty much identical. Some item I replaced a while ago had a big warning on it that it was not compatible with LHM. For the life of me I cannot recall if it was a PAS RAM on a 405 or a 205 Master Cylinder

I believe it's the "friction Modifiers" in ATF that do all the damage if you accidentially put it in a Citroen LHM system rather than the ATF itself so perhaps LHM will work. The problem remains though of getting all the old ATF out but a ZX having proper Citroen green blood is very tempting...