Shopping for power steering fluid: Dexron, Asian, American...?

I was seeing well above $15 per quart

Insanity :crazy_face:

Sooooo $60 per gallon ! Must be ā€œspecialā€ stuffā€¦ I think PT Barnum made up a quote about this sort of thingā€¦ Howā€™d it go again?

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Probably not Barnum himself, but at least one of the people the quote is attributed to said it referring to Barnum

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LOLā€¦ Did you guys really think I didnā€™t know the quote?

Yes it will. It will likely start leaking if hydraulic fluid/PSF is used. Have seen that very thing in Toyotas when PSF is used by garage mechanics who run on autopilot.

The same is true with some excavators. My Takeuchi specifies ATF as the fluid in the hydraulic system. When it was mistakenly changed with Elf Hydraulic Fluid, several seals started leaking later that year.

To paraphrase the old saying - Hydraulic fluids ainā€™t hydraulic fluids.

As for it being superceded and no longer availableā€¦

As to the original posterā€™s question, thereā€™s really no way to know if a different fluid will cause a leak in the future. If a leak does develop, itā€™s because the darn thing is over 30 years old and rarely driven!

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An interesting tidbit . . .

On my Toyota, the power steering filler cap says ā€œDexron typeā€

It doesnā€™t specifically say Dexron II or Dexron III

The reservoir of mine, on the side, says ā€˜Dexron typeā€™; the ownerā€™s manual says Dexron II.

Just go to Autozone, Pepboys, or whoever, and get the store brand ā€œDex/Mercā€ atf . . .

Get it over with

Sorry, I scrolled through those fluids and see no Dexron III. Dexron/Mercon and ā€œcompatible withā€ and even AC Delco Professional Type III arenā€™t Dexron III. Iā€™ve been down this road before. Dexron III is discontinued and not available. But hey, if one chooses to choose these fluids then thatā€™s their decision, I guess.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

So what do you propose . . . ?!

We know that true Dexron II an Dexron III are no longer available, unless somebody has some unopened containers from back in the day

Do nothing . . . ?!

Buy something that is ā€œcompatibleā€ and take your chances . . . ?!

Use Dexron VI and take your chances . . . ?!

Buy that outrageously priced Toyota brand automatic transmission fluid for roughly $15 per quart . . . ?!

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Ridiculous price for sure (and ridiculous owner information), but I donā€™t buy Toyotas, and Iā€™m afraid if I had one thatā€™s what Iā€™d buy.

I buy my GM vehiclesā€™ PS fluid at the dealer, but itā€™s less than 1/2 that price!
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

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In my previous 2006 Toyota Matrix I used Dex VI when I flushed the PS fluid every 3 years.
No problems in the subsequent 9 years I owned it.

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Oā€™Reilly Auto Parts has Dexron III

https://www.oreillyauto.com/detail/b/o-reilly-oil-4527/performance-16477/oil--sealers---additives-16820/transmission-fluid-25268/ef29179d83d6/o-reilly-conventional-transmission-fluid-20w-dexron-iii-mercon-1-quart/highmiled/4601157?pos=0

That product isnā€™t actually Dexron III . . . Dexron III canā€™t be bought new, unless somebody has some nos bottles still sitting in the back

The product you showed merely says it meets the requirements . . . not exactly the same thing, but close

That said, Iā€™d be comfortable using that in Trollā€™s 1987 Toyota pickup truck

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Correct. I donā€™t buy any of that stuff that says ā€œmeets the requirements, etcetera.ā€ But, Iā€™m just like that, I guess. The vital fluids are just too critical for ā€œclose enough.ā€ Iā€™ve never had a wrench turned on an engine (except spark plugs, oil drain plugs, and transmission pans and filters) and I donā€™t intend to start with that.

If there is a real aftermarket substitute for the OEM fluids it will indicate that it licensed by GM, on the bottle. I have bought Castrol Transmax brand fluids like that , for my old vehicles, but never found it in Dex III. I have evolved into Dexron VI for everything.
CSA
:palm_tree: :sunglasses: :palm_tree:

I donā€™t know what I would have used in my various Chrysler products with automatics although I think my 81 Horizon said use ATF+2 on the power steering cap.

I used to drain a quart of trans fluid out of the torque converter plug before I raced someone with my 56 Desoto but I canā€™t remember what the fluid was. Too many years. I do know, I never had a power steering leak on a Chrysler product.