Power Steering Fluid for 360

John- See if this thread helps. My 575M has Valvoline fully synthetic automatic transmission fluid in it. Works fine and the power steering systems are virtually identical.

http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=236759&highlight=power+steering+fluid

Taz
Terry phillips

 

John- I know about the power steering fluid, but am still not fully convinced I understand the F1 fluid. The 575M calls for Fiat Tutela CS Speed, whatever that is. Need some help from Brian, Dave, Steve, or the other experts on a suitable substitute, if one exists.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

John- Had seen that, and based on no recommended change interval for my F1 system, figured even if it was expensive, I could find enough to keep the system topped up, even if purchased from a dealer. Still unsure of why the stuff was used.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

The fluid specd for power steering is just a heavy duty ATF designed for industrial use. Ferrari has had some problems with PS getting hot, sometimes too hot for conventional lower grades of ATF. Those problems have been limited in my experience to the 12 cyl front engine cars in extreme use. a number of years ago they even had us installing bigger steering coolers in the 550 but the problem dates back to the C4. For most of the cars including the 355 and 360 the F1 system has been the one with the temp problems and is the one that can use the better fluid. I suspect that is the reason for the switch to CS Speed though they never verbalized it. I have no idea how compatible CS is with regular ATF. I was told at one time mixing was ok in an emergency. I have another source of very high grade ATF and am planning on stocking it for the F1 and PS of non CS cars.

It seems that getting good actual data on ATF is a little more difficult than motor oils. Everyone is a little elusive about what they are selling. I suspect some of the industrial grade stuff might be just what the doctor ordered but all to often when queried you either get a sales person who is not very up to speed technically or an engineer who is worried about liability and just says use what the book says. Problem with Ferrari is all to often instead of giving required specs they give a product name that often is from the EU and does not use API terminology. For a few years the Shell 5-40 had no API spec so it kept us guessing what it really was.

 

Brian- That is by far the best explanation of F1 fluid and CS Speed I have heard. Do you have any recommendations on how often to change it, since there is no recommended interval in the OM/WSM? So far my techs are just making sure it is full.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I may be committing a sin but I just use redline synthetic in my 550. My understanding is if a maker specifies regular or HD ATF and you switch to the same grade as a minimum but go synthetic you generally have higher heat handling capabilites with the synthetics. That seems to go for gear and engine oils too. If that doesn't do you then you have to find the fluid temps you are operating at and either cool to be in the spec range of the fluid ferrari says or change fluids or increase reservoir capacity or some other trick to get your numbers in the right range for how and where you drive. Redline is really good about matching their products to crazy things manufacturer's are using. All you have to do is call them and they have a lookup table to do a cross referrence. I just used them last week trying to find a substitute for GM's autotrak2 electronic transfercase fluid and redline turned me on to their MTL. That was easy!

 

I thought about that too. Redline is so easy to get for me it would be dumb not to use if it is rated well enough. Their website is one of the vague ones I was referring to. I should call them though. They are just right up the road, not like its a long distance call.

 

I think for normal use 15k is a good idea. 30k for sure. Chances are in your car the low pressure hoses in the steering will be getting pretty wet and need changing before then though. I just use generic Goodyear hydraulic hose. I get big long pieces for less than a single Ferrari hose.

 

Prego

 

Not saying it is the case with current day GM products but American manufacturers have offered "Power steering fluid" for a long time and it has long been accepted it was ATF, sometimes without the red dye, at a higher price.

 

John- Brian is right. Sometimes it does not pay to overthink this problem. A really high quality synthetic ATF is all you need for your power steering. Take your choice of brand, but with two year change intervals, your brand should work fine, just like the Valvoline has worked well for me.

Brian- Thanks for the F1 fluid recommendation. Mine will be due soon.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

It seems to me that Brian's advice was stated so as not to give anyone a bum steer!!!

 

Greg- You are incorrigible. Whatever that means.

Taz
Terry Phillips

 

I think you are right!!!

 

Hi chaps,
Resurrecting an old thread, but how do you drain the power steering fluid from a 360 spider. I'm not hugely mechanically minded but I'm keen to learn to do this myself (where better than a 360 spider ;-) )
Getting quite a bit of vibration, so think it probably needs a change.

Couldn't find anything with the search function.
Thanks guys.

 

Good fo you that you decide to learn and do it by yourself. Seems that you don't have the manuals.
Here is a great link I got from here;
http://p-car.com/ferrari/manuals/
You will find all the answers you are looking for, and you always have this chat.
Good luck!

 

Hey, that's my web site! I never intended the link to be used as a public download, I guess it gets spread around...

 

Didn't know that Robin!
A couple of months ago I ask for manuals and a member post that link.
Anyway it is a great link so thanks for sharing it!!

What do you think about the belts scans?