Whether you’ve run into an issue yet or not, it’s probably time to check the power steering fluid filter. Don’t have a filter for your HydraStop brake booster? (Part# PSF-AN) It’s the cheapest insurance you can buy to protect your HydraStop and power steering system!
Assuming you do have the filter installed and have driven the car for a while, there’s a good chance the filter has collected some debris. This will restrict the flow in your power steering and HydraStop system, making it work harder and potentially causing problems down the line.
In our 1955 Chevy (Project ’55 Revive) we noticed the brake pedal was “sticking” and not returning like it should. After 20,000 miles on the road, the culprit was a clogged power steering fluid filter. But what caused the filter to build up debris in the first place? Rubber shavings from cut-to-fit power steering lines. Even if you sufficiently clean the rubber lines upon initial installation, over time some of the frayed hose ends and additional rubber bits can work their way loose.
How To Remove And Clean Your Power Steering Filter
Use a syringe to draw out all the power steering fluid from the reservoir. This will allow you to disconnect the lines and remove the filter with minimal spillage.
Disconnect the push-lock hoses on either end of the filter and remove filter. Have a rag handy as some fluid will still be present.
With either a rag, compressed air, brake clean, or all of the above (depending on how dirty your filter is) remove as much debris as possible before re-assembling and re-installing the filter.
With the filter cleaned and installed back in-line, we strongly recommend disposing of the old fluid and fulling the reservoir with fresh ACDelco Power Steering Fluid (Part# 10-5073).
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