Im gonna do my flush in a few weeks once i hit 100k...but i was wondering how can i do a complete flush on a 4.7. I know i gotta take the fluid out of the pump but i wanna do a complete flush and take everything out of the linkage as well

 

The best way to really do a complete flush is with a power flush machine such as the one we use at our dealership. We just hook one hose to the return hose and suck all of the fluid out, push fluid into the supply hose and repeat a few times.

As for a DIY way I would imagine you would need to suck all the fluid out of the return hose by some way.

 

1. Go buy a bottle of ATF, and a suction gun.
2. Suck out everything in the bottle, fill it back up, start vehicle, turn steering wheel from lock to lock like 5 times. Shut car off
3. Repeat step 2 like 5 times, you'll get more than 90% of the old fluid out.

Another way is unhook the return hose of the reservoir, Have a buddy sit inside the car to start it up, turn it lock to lock, as fluid pumps out of return hose, You will fill it back up from the reservoir. But this way is a lot messier. and it is a 2 man job.

 

Or a better way is to have a shop do it for you for a few bucks and not install a oil compound into the coolant and degenerate the cooling system and contaminate recyclable materials.

Might be be a simple smart idea?

 

i wouldnt even bother with it unless you have a problem with the fluid.

however if you really feel the need to do this on your own i would go with steak50s method, unhook return line from cooler and put it in a bucket, you should be able to push fluid through just by turning the wheel lock to lock with the front end on jacks and the engine off, this may make it a little bit less messy.

hes not touching the cooling system man, wtf are you talking about?

 

Yeah im gonna have one of my buddies help me on this one. So basically an easy way of doing it with two people is to disconnect the return hose on the reservoir side correct? Then have the other person move the wheels while i keep the reservoir full. So far thats my understanding correct me if im wrong...

And does anyone know an estimate of how much new fluid ill need? Tried researching it and didnt get an estimated amount anywhere.

 

I just pulled and replaced my PS pressure/return hoses last weekend cuz they where weeping fluid. I used just under a quart of Valvoline PS fluid, but do not have an in-line cooler either so if you have one, it will require more. Since your vehicle is newer, like steak said, you will probably need ATF fluid. I needed Spec 5931 fluid for mine which is more clear/amber in color.

Just make sure you bleed the air out good when done (repeatedly turning wheels side to side with engine off). I did this like 30 times. And keep the PS fluid level high initially with the cap loose when you do it. The first 5 turns or so the air erupted in the reservoir like a volcano.

 

the system with a cooler holds about 1qt of fluid (this is on the r/p models so 00+, id imagine the older ones are close tho) so if you want to purge it id go with 2 qts, if you want to run 1 through the system tog et the old out fine, then reconnect and purge the system (there is a write up on replacing the power steering hoses which details the purge process with warnings ect. please go read that before doing this)

 

I'm getting close to 100k...

At every oil change starting at approx 90k, I used a simple suction bulb (Harbor Freight has them for approx $3) and suction out approx 12oz each time and then refill with ATF+4. I figure that by the 4th oil change, I will have gotten it all out and only used 2 qts. Super simple, no mess and you are already doing stuff with the oil change, so the added time of suctioning out 12oz from the PS reservoir is nothing.

 

Nice write up!

And putting the fluid in after every oil change sounds like a good idea as well might just do that.