[roxxymart]

Brake Fluid was put into my power steering resevoir right before a road trip. didnt have problems until about 2 hours when I turned off the road and remember Brake fluid had been used. Filled it up with power steering.

the problem is I fill with power steering and when I check it out later its all gone!

Power steering pump, or should I just have someone flush the lines?

 

[mlbbaseball]

u do know ur supposed to use mercon atf right? you may have ruined the seals.

 

[nomad327]

Brake fluid is water base liquid, and the other is more or less standard oil. There should be a whole bunch of mayonnaise looking stuff in there now. It may not hurt the seals in the short term, but I would expect the pump to have trouble with wear.

 

[90base]

Also, brake fluid eats natural rubber, Im not sure about the focus, but guess what most power steering low pressure return lines are made of?...... Thats Right RUBBER

 

[ArcticMynx]

Also, brake fluid eats natural rubber, Im not sure about the focus, but guess what most power steering low pressure return lines are made of?...... Thats Right RUBBER

Rotfl Both High and low are made of the same piping I just replaced both of mine not to long ago after one sprung a pisser of a leak ( pop the hood and you can hit the car parked 2-3 spaces over XD, it was quite funny actually)

get the Fluid flushed immediately they may have to cycle fresh Steering fluid quite a few times.. if not the brake fluid will remove the lubricant from the rack pistons and cause them to stick/bind

 

[roxxymart]

it turned out, the brake fluid only messed up the power steering pressure sensor. It was only leaking when I turned the wheel. Was a dealer part 39.48 plus 30. labor. Not too bad.

Also needed a thermostat change. The temp was always running low but when I would turn off the car I could hear the antifreeze bubbling as if the car was running hot. Add 7.99 for thermostat and 1.99 for seal. All in all car running optimal now at the cost of $100

 

[ArcticMynx]

Heheheh again join the club my T-Stat is toast aswell.. someone locked the only remote/transponder key IN the car and notified me 3 hours later which i rushed over and to was to late I could smell burning antifreeze ( not leaking or loosing it) and the car stalled ( ran out of gas) it took a lazy tow truck driver and a pressurecup to warp my door open enogh to slip a pipe into the car and hit unlock

Glad to hear its fixed

P.S. my previous post was in the event that its left in there alot longer then a day

 

[Geezer]

Brake fluid is water base liquid, and the other is more or less standard oil. There should be a whole bunch of mayonnaise looking stuff in there now. It may not hurt the seals in the short term, but I would expect the pump to have trouble with wear.

Sorry to revive this thread but this is a troubling and incorrect statement. Brake fluid is NOT water based. It has a form of alcohol as its base and is the reason why it attracts moisture. The hydraulic fluids used in power steering systems (often automatic transmission fluids) can be very damaging to regular rubber as well.