Should I use ATF +4 for power steering fluid in my 2001 Dodge Ram 1500? The fluid in there is red and clean but do not know how long it has been in there.

Thanks

 

Some folks use ATF, other folks use PS fluid. You get different recommendations depending on where you ask. Best bet would be to look and see what the factory recommends...... and if the wrong fluid is in there, flush it out.

Welcome to DF!

 

chances are yes, but check your owners manual for the guaranteed correct answer.

Im also going to move this the appropriate RAM section

 

Here are all you need to know:
http://dodgeram.info/tsb/2003/19-005-03.htm

 

I actually remember reading on a few different sites from people you can use trans fluid in the power steering, they said it's actually cheaper, one lady used it in her truck since hers had a leak....not sure why they didn't just try lucas stop leak, worked for me on an old vehicle in the past, ah well lol

 

Never had done a power steering fluid replacement in my 99 3500 van previously, so pumped out the old in 2012 having read about the ATF+4 being a good replacement... no complaints from the pump or me and still working just fine.

 

Any kind of "stop leak" product clogs up things. I had a Sebring that had a ps pump leak, I took it apart and there was a filter looking thing in it and it was all clogged up with some goo(stop leak). It was still working but didn't stop the leak(shaft seal was bad).

 

When I got my Redhead they told me to use ATF for the pump since that's what was used to break-in the gear. Besides the pump being noisy, and leaking, it is working. Actually wants to steer and return anyway. I don't remember if I used +4 or regular.

 

I heard the same before honestly, and my dad swears up and down the stuff is crap poison that will kill a vehicle, truth be told, I only put it in an old 92 firebird I didn't particularly care about since I just needed it to stop puking out PS fluid, randomly one night when I went to get a burger it leaked so much, put maybe 4oz of the lucas stop leak in and it never leaked since, although I haven't driven the thing in months, I could write a chapter book on things wrong with that car, particularly a bad parasitic draw that kills the battery quick....I don't exactly have the mental and emotional will to chase down electrical problems on an old 26 year old vehicle haha

I currently have a bit of a water pump (I'm guessing...) leak on my 95 ram, I heard stop leak wouldn't even work in this case, then again reading some product infos for pumps, some companies claim its normal to leak some out of the weep hole, and that originally there wasn't even a weep hole, leaked fluid would just build up inside and burn off as the engine got hot....

I know these cooling systems on the 2nd gen aren't truly a closed system though, the reservoir tank has an open curved hole at the top for whatever reason, none of my other different vehicles ever have, some claimed because of this design, these trucks will naturally just evaporate some coolant over time

it wasn't an awful lot, from the "full" marker to the "low" marker in over 200 miles, but it's a leak nonetheless somewhere...