Hhhmmmm...... Generally, this is a pump problem..... you *could* try doing a warranty swap on the pump, re-bleeding, and see if the problem goes away..... Everything is friggin' NEW..... so, buildup of crap in the system seems unlikely..... Do you have the power steering cooler? Pretty sure you won't have hydro-boost brakes.......

Is the fluid foamy when it's coming out?

 

Yes on the cooler, ive triple checked to make sure there is no restriction. Even tested with it out of the system. No the fluid is not foaming after the bleed process, clear as water while gushing out. Looks like a pump swap then... Ugh. Thank you.

 

I fought my pump too. Kept pushing fluid out if turned sharp. Took months to get the air all out. I must've bled it 3 or 4 times. Jack it up and turn the wheel back and forth a billion times engine off! Then leave it over night jacked up. Then with cap off, start it and slowly turn lock to lock. It shouldn't burp any fluid.

It's a Napa pump and has leaked since day one out the main port. Plus some days it's nice and easy to turn, other days takes almost two hands to steer. Now it doesn't push any out, but still leaks enough to be a frame rust inhibitor. I plan to replace it with my old one since its so noisy, leaky, and finicky.

And this is all with ATF4 since Redhead told me to use it. I really want to go back to regular fluid and have no more leaks but of course my fear is doing the job again (sucks) and then having either worse performance or leaks still.

 

Spot on. The manual for my 1996 2500 V10 specifically says to not use ATF. It did not however say what the right part number for Mopar PS fluid was so came here to loo it up. Thanks for the info 5931 it is.

 

I just use ATF

 

Depends entirely on the year of your truck. After 2000 Mopar used ATF in pickups but not all of their vehicles. If you use ATF in the wrong one you can end up with some EXPENSIVE repairs, like the WJ with the hydraulic rad fan. Make damn sure you know your vehicle is speced for ATF before you use it.

 

I use ATF in my 96, 98, 00, 01 Rams and never had a problem and she steers with minimal effort

 

I have since switched to regular PS fluid and the noise is way down and steering more consistent. The pumps that came with these trucks definitely need PS oil and not ATF.

But I'm sure there are some who use baby tears and their truck steers on rails and gets 35mpg all while putting down 500hp with just some stickers and a throttle body spacer so who knows.

 

One, I live were -50 is not all that unusual. Even ATF fluid we run is full synthetic. Two, do whatever you like, if it works for you, good. Lucky doesn't make it a good idea. I am pretty sure Dodge didn't write those explicit warnings just for their amusement. Three, parts are way more expensive up here, and it often takes a while to get them, so we do everything we can not to have to replace expensive pieces.

Do whatever you like but please don't tell me and Mopar that we are wrong based on your limited experience. Thousands of others have proven that Mopar's recommendations are worth listening to.

 

One, never said you were wrong. Two, my "limited experience" would only tell you that the ONLY difference between ATF and PS is ATF will help with leaks. Even my customers I put ATF in their Rams. Is not luck. Now do I care what you put in, nope. Just was giving my experience. With 40in tires if something was going to break it would.