Dear Scotty,
I have a 2006 Ford F-150 V6 5-Speed with 160,000 miles. About a month ago I noticed the power steering was a tad noisy (nothing alarming), so I checked the fluid and it was slightly discolored and had a burnt smell, so I flushed it clean and put new fluid in it.
weeks later I noticed that the noise didn't really improve. The only additives for power steering I could find were for stopping leaks, but it doesn't leak and I don't want to clog the system.
I remembered that the system takes Mercon, so I siphoned out 2 inches of fluid from the reservoir and replaced it with some Lucas Transmission Fix I had handy. drove it around a parking lot making sharp left and right turns, and lo and behold the noise was gone.
My question is: did I do the right thing, or will this hurt the power steering in the long run?
If it temporarily fixed the problem then you may be ok for now.
Check the power steering pump itself and the power steering box. Make sure that are still both operating correctly. If the noise does come back, then you may have to replace one of those parts.
Thanks. I really do hope it's just the system just showing it's age. Other than that, the steering is fantastic. I can turn the wheel with one finger and there's no play at all. That's why I added such a small amount. I wanted to raise the lubricity without thickening the fluid and burning the pump out.
the power steering is probably done anyway. You've silenced the noise, but not eliminated the problem.
With thicker fluid, the pump has to work harder now, and its ultimate demise will be accelerated.
You've put on a bandaid
Well, the noise was very minimal, and the system takes 1.5 quarts and I only put in 2 ounces. It still steers soft, smooth and easy as it always has before and has never had any play. I just wanted to tone down the slight hissing and whirring.
It still makes some sound when it's cold, but when it warms up, it's quiet as a mouse. Before I added the Lucas, it was making the noise all the time.
All of that aside, it is the original system, and you might be right that it's on it's way out, I just hope it's not 𝘴𝘰𝘰𝘯.