My wife put coolant in the power steering line. Is the car safe to drive? What should we do? It’s a 2003 Suzuki Forenza.
Have you run the car? Hopefully not. You need to get the fluid out of the reservoir (turkey baster works great), and refill with fresh. If you HAVE run the motor, you need to get it to a shop ASAP and have them flush the system. The pump bearings will be trash in no time if you continue circulating coolant in the system.
We’ve not run the car. We called two different dealerships - the one nearest us that we don’t like told us that we should have it towed in for a power steering flush. The one where we bought the car and where my wife’s dad works in accounting told us to use a turkey baster to siphon the fluid out of the reservoir and fill with new.
Looks like we’re getting a new turkey baster! Woo-hoo!
Thanks for your help.
although you can remove MOST of the antifreeze with the turkey baster, there will still be some in there.
you really should have the system flushed. (but not at Diffy, quick, lube, et al) go to a real mechanic. (not necessarily a dealer (that will cost you more than an independent mechanic)
Yes, this is a case where a flush is the wisest. W/the turkey baster method you’ll only get part of the coolant out- you’ve got the lines, steering gear, power steering pump (depending on where resevoir is), and any coolers. Don’t know how much coolant you put in, but depending on this factor it might be ok to drive it a couple miles to a garage- no guarantees. Steering gear replacement is pretty expensive, though…