Power steering fluid change?

Hi,
I had to top up the power steering fluid. Aside from the fact that 12 EUR per liter is a very reasonable price, I noticed that the container had an expiration date printed on it. If the oil is already aging in a sealed, refrigerated container, then it will definitely age even faster in the vehicle. Does anyone know anything about that?

Hi!

I've also changed mine before, but not because the oil was expired.
As far as I know, it only needs to be refilled!
It's not exposed to high stress.

cu: Marko

According to 'jetzt mach ich's mir selbst,' extreme caution is necessary when topping up the power steering fluid. There has to be something there. They are writing about the risk of steering failure.

On the other hand, power steering fluid is essentially the same as brake fluid, and that should be changed every 2 years, although I've never heard of a power steering fluid change interval (wow, what a word ).

Hi,

DocSnydor wrote:

On the other hand, servo oil is essentially the same thing as brake fluid

.
I'm not entirely sure about that; it's probably just regular hydraulic oil.
The requirements are quite different; while brake calipers can sometimes reach temperatures of 100°C, that is unlikely to be the case with power steering systems .

Best regards, Rainer.

Hmm, Rainer is right, so the quality is still below that of brake fluid. Well, we always used that stuff in the military because we had it in abundance.

According to Aufschrit, it is a mineral oil product that qualifies for tax benefits. One could have expected that, given the low price...
It smells a bit stronger than the hydraulic oil we use in our excavators and jacks.
Furthermore, brake fluid and mineral oils are completely incompatible in terms of their compatibility with seals.
The consumption isn't dramatic. The level was slightly above the minimum for a long time. Now it's just below it. There's nothing visibly dripping.

Please also pay attention to WHAT you put WHERE.

The VAG group prefers to use its own hydraulic oil. GM used ATF (automatic transmission fluid) for the power steering.

The two oils are ABSOLUTELY INCOMPATIBLE. They will cause clumping and damage the pumps.

Brake fluid and hydraulic oil are, incidentally, two VERY different things. While one is an oil, the other cannot be (imagine if a brake caliper leaked onto the disc). This is also evident in a very special property of brake fluid: it is hygroscopic, meaning it eagerly absorbs water. Hydraulic oil, on the other hand, has the opposite property .

pressure... well... it's already around 90-150 bar of peak pressure.

I haven't heard anything about oil changes. My old car (let's call it 'Grandpa's Box') ran for 14 years with the same oil and eventually died from a broken plasma coil. The emissions test was still perfect.

I can't recall ever seeing anything done on a wheel loader/excavator other than engine oil changes.

CU Gremlin.

Hi!

Everything written, which should have been written, it's a shame I didn't look at it earlier.

As I said: Comparing brake fluid to hydraulic oil is complete nonsense.

Most hydraulic oil is red.

I agree with Gremlin that VW uses its own oil, which is green in color.
So, be careful when buying the oil, otherwise: warranty void, warranty void.

I'm bringing up this old post again because I want to know exactly which type of oil is needed for the power steering in our Polo (see signature).

Can I only buy this from Volkswagen, or also from accessory shops?

What is the exact name/designation?



Sven.

Hello scrdel,

You can buy the oil at a hardware store or accessory shop.
For example, at Liqui Moly, the oil is labeled as "Central Hydraulic Oil."

When it comes to automatic transmission fluid, things get a bit more complicated... newer automatic transmissions from VW, specifically those with a "CVT" (continuously variable transmission), require a special type of oil.
Even our oil supplier couldn't get any information from VW's headquarters... it's like a trade secret.
After searching for a while, we finally figured it out... most ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) is based on mineral oil, which needs to be changed regularly.
VW uses a special, fully synthetic ATF (Automatic Transmission Fluid) that does not need to be changed.
This oil is only available from the original manufacturers: VW, Castrol, and Liqui Moly.

Regards,
Spaceballer...

I wouldn't even bother thinking about that...

Just buy a liter bottle from VW and you're done! It should last for the next 3-4 VWs.

... I'm also too worried about adding something wrong, as that would just create unnecessary work for me with .


I'll stop by sometime...



Sven.

Hello!

Since it fits so perfectly right now, I'll jump in here.

So, I'm having problems with the power steering; sometimes it's difficult to operate, especially at idle speed.
At the current temperatures, around 0 degrees Celsius, I don't have any problems, but when it gets warmer, the steering assist sometimes seems to be missing.
Here in the forum, someone already suggested that I should try changing the servo oil, which also seems like a reasonable idea.
I plan to do that myself soon.

Does anyone have a suggestion on where and how I can drain the old oil as completely as possible?
To ensure that as little of the old material remains in circulation as possible?