Refer to owner’s manual or manufacturers specifications to determine the correct fluid to be used in the power steering system.

**ONLY USE RECOMMENDED FLUIDS. **

Other steering components may retain residue or debris from the old system and contaminate the new rack immediately voiding the warranty.

A leading cause of malfunctioning units is hose residue in the system. Hoses don’t just “up and break”. They deteriorate, they rot, they break away and they slough off pieces of rubber residue. In turn, pass through the system to plug up or gum up the valves and orifices in the rack and pinion unit.

Since hoses deteriorate from the inside-out, it is sometimes difficult to tell if they are failing just by carrying out a visual inspection. If the hose feels stiff, hard or spongy – replace all hoses in the system. Here’s why: the hoses are all made from a similar compound. If one hose is in poor condition or rotten, it is a sure sign that they are ready to be replaced.

• With the rack and pinion hoses disconnected, place the outlet hose from the power steering pump into a waste container.
• Fill the pump reservoir to maximum with fresh fluid.
• Start the engine.
• Continue filling the pump reservoir with fresh fluid until the fluid coming from the pump outlet is running clean. We recommend flushing with a minimum of 5 Litres.
  DO NOT RUN THE PUMP DRY (without fluid).
• Stop the engine.
• Reconnect the lines to the rack.
• With no load on the front axle (wheels raised off the ground) perform two slow steering wheel turns from lock to lock.
• Refill the pump reservoir to maximum level.
• Start the engine and make sure that the pump reservoir contains fluid always to prevent air being sucked into the system.
• Perform several slow steering wheel turns lock to lock to remove any trapped air in the system.
• Perform a visual inspection of the complete steering system, check for leaks.
• Switch off engine and check how far the fluid rises in the pump reservoir.
• If the fluid rises more than approximately 5mm in the reservoir, repeat the bleeding process.

NB: SOME FORD PUMPS ARE VERY DIFFICULT TO BLEED. AIR GETS TRAPPED IN THE SYSTEM. THE RESULT IS A GROWLING NOISE FROM THE PUMP. MAKE SURE ALL FITTINGS ARE AIRTIGHT BY LOOSENING SLIGHTLY AND RE-TIGHTENING TO MANUFACTURERS TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS.