How to Check Power Steering Fluid Levels

Video Transcript

"Hi! My name is Nate McCullough on behalf of expertvillage.com. In this clip we are going to talk about one of the maintenance items involved in a major tune-up or vehicle overhaul. The item we are going to talk about is checking an inspection of the power steering fluid level and condition. On this particular vehicle, the power steering fluid reservoir is located directly on top of the engine. As you can see, it is labeled power steering fluid. That may or may not be the case on your particular vehicle. It has a dipstick built in on the reservoir, which is the case most of the time. Pretty much you just unscrew the cap and pull it out. The dipstick on this one is located right on the bottom and what we will do is stick in, wipe off once there. You always want to give your dipstick a fresh plunge in order to get the most accurate fluid reading. Let it sit for a second. You want to make sure you do this with the engine at normal operating temperature and on level ground. As you can see here, the dipstick is marked in several locations. Where our fluid level is right here, is actually covering up the word add. I'll wipe that off for you so you can see what I am talking about. You can see this is the area that is notated as the add area. I am going to want to add some fluid to my vehicle up to this mark here which is C, which stands for cold being that the enjine has not run, I have not driven it anywhere for a while I am going to treat this fluid as if it is cold. Cold fluid is going to take up a less volume area than hot fluid. If I filled this up to the cold mark and took it across the state and checked it again, it would be at a higher level more likely up here at the H which stands for hot. One more thing you are going to want to check with your power steering fluid is to put your dipstick back in and get a sample of it. Take that power steering fluid, put it on your finger and you are going to check for color; this has a reddish color. There is a little bit of particulate in it. You are also going to want to check for smell. If it smells like an electrical fire then you are going to want to change it. This paticulate if you can see, it is enough for me to recommend flushing of the power steering system. "