It's red and frothy, and the power steering pump is making noise on the Xterra.

how do you drain the system? Is refilling as simple as filling up the reservoir?

Sounds like there is air in it.

Add some fluid.

Once you've added fluid, put the truck up on jackstands in the front and work the steering lock to lock back and forth about 10 times while the engine is running. that should clear the air out.

I don't have to drain any fluid?

If you want to change the fluid, yes.. pull the line off the power steering box and let it drain out. Reattach and then fill the reservoir. Start the engine, bleed like stated before and then top off the reservoir as needed.

quote:

Originally posted by datz510:
Sounds like there is air in it.

Add some fluid.

Once you've added fluid, put the truck up on jackstands in the front and work the steering lock to lock back and forth about 10 times while the engine is running. that should clear the air out.

With the engine running? I've always heard (and done) it with the engine off. With the pump running it's going to continue to foam up the fluid.

no fluid would circulate if the truck wasn't running, would it?

By turning the wheel back and forth it forces fluid through the system without churning it up with the pump. Make sure you have the cap on and don't steer too fast when you do this or it will squirt it out the reservoir.

Of course after doing a search on this online every hit I get says to do it with the engine idling. There's no need to jack the front wheels off the ground if you're going to be running the engine though.

I've found that if you turn the wheels with the engine off (especially with my ford), it spews fluid out the reservoir. The engine usually needs to be at idle. There will be some foaming at first, but when you start getting the air out and keep the fluid topped off in the reservoir, it will improve and eventually go away.

The only reason for jackstands is to make it easier to turn the wheel & since you're working the steering back and forth, I didnt want to chew the tires up in one spot after an hour of working the system. You could do it on the ground if you wanted.

I replaced the pump and all the hoses a while back on my X.

I did the jack up side to side at idle thing and after awhile all the air worked out.

I would not turn my front tires side to side without jacking up the front tires. Puts too much wear on the front tires and unneeded stress on the steering components.

it might be too late at this point, but if you're going to drain the fluid anyway, you might want to put some seafoam in there and drive it a little before you drain it out, just to clean things out a bit more. I did this with my old Grand Cherokee, and it quieted my pump down considerably (although the new PS fluid probably helped with that too)
just a thought

The fluid wasn't dirty...just foamy.

I did the jack up the front and work the steering trick and it got the air out of the system.