How to: Update the Power Steering tank on a 355

Here's how we do it at the Stooge-fest on a 348. Open the engine cover. Open a beer. Scratch tummy. Drink beer and shut lid. We don't have one.

 

A big thanks to you, Paul, from the 355 community! It is posts like these that make FChat an invaluable resource for every owner out there.

 

Very cool.. I still need to do this to my '95!

 

Thanks again Paul...finally got around to doing this job today with 3forty8's help. We made a hell of a mess with the coolant but it's all good now...

I feel much better now that the old tank is replaced - mine was such a mickey mouse part, the cap never stayed on and the plastic covers were always moist with PS fluid. Fire waiting to happen in my estimation...

 

Glad you were able to put it to use.

Yeah, I don't know what it is about coolant, but it just loves to go everywhere, no matter how careful you are.

I've got a growing pile of completely useless old parts now, that I can't get myself to throw away because they came from a Ferrari!

 

This is the same reservoir on the Mondial T. Thanks for the info.

 

Never a bad idea to bump great threads like this...

Excellent write up, Paul.

Mike

 

I've started to notice some fluid on top of the cover and I drove the car for just 1 day after doing my major so I know it wasn't there before...

Is that the sign I must do this or does it litteraly always explode when it fails like you described?

 

What's the best way to get the fluid out of the old power steering tank without making a mess?

 

You could pump it out a few different ways. A turkey baster would be the cheap way, I used a hand operated vacuum bleeder tool.

 

$6 at Harbor freight
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Great ideas...Thanks!

 

Monotonically: In mathematics, a monotonic function (or monotone function) is a function between ordered sets that preserves the given order. This concept first arose in calculus, and was later generalized to the more abstract setting of order theory.

Had to look it up...

 

Haven't paid much attention to mine. Is this an issue exclusive to early 355's or is it with all of them? I have a '98.

 

I think it's just the early ones that had this. If the lid on your power steering reservoir is the size of the entire palm of your hand, it's the old one. If the lid is smaller than a Ferrari fuel cap and says ZF on the top, it's the new one.

 

That's great info...I always tought it was all Ferrari 355 reservoirs that were faulty. Mine had the large cap and was leaking, I also put in the 21$ BMW reservoir and it's been perfect ever since.

 

Just finished the update. I did mine without removing the coolant tank. Kind of a pain, and I ended up removing the rear deck lid for better access. All in all I'm glad I did it...the old tank was definitely leaking a little. Thanks for the write up!

 

Thanks guys. Happy to help!

 

I just noticed a small , one inch round, drop of bright yellow fluid under the car in the garage. Not oil and its more vidcous than coolant. Is this psf? It is left of center. The car is a 97

Haven't looked around the tank yet but this thread has me thinking

Excellent write up Paul.

 

Normally the cap is faulty and the fluid ends up right on top of the engine between the plenum chambers.

 

Thanks!

Was the fluid at the front of the car or closer to the motor? I hate to say it (and I certainly don't recommend doing it), but I'll often end up tasting the fluid to see what it is! Then again, I don't have any pets

 

You need help.

 

For anybody interested, the coolant tank is available for about $13+ship from Amazon...

 

Left of center under the engine. I'll put it on the lift and have a look over the weekend.

 

Great thread! For those who may still need to find one of these tanks, here is one:

Power Steering Reservoir w/Cap, 928/944/968

$20.95
SKU:
928.347.015.05

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks just like the Ferrari OEM ...
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