flushing power steering 2000 550 maranello

There a couple of different methods mentioned in this thread: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/steering-boost-comes-and-goes.500168/

 

Dennis, if you'd like to try a professional style flush it's really not that difficult to do. Suggest you have a helper to start/stop the engine while you're watching fluid levels & hoses.

1. Pull both hoses off the P/S reservoir. The top/larger one is the suction side hose for the pump, the lower/smaller one is the return from the system cooler. Be ready to plug or block each of the nipples on the reservoir as you pull the hoses off as fluid will pour out.

2. Take the reservoir off & clean it out thoroughly, including the screen at the bottom. Once it's pretty clean, run it through the dishwasher when your wife isn't looking. That'll make it come out looking brand new. When it's clean & DRY, remount the reservoir in the car.

2. Get a gallon of your preferred P/S fluid (I've always liked Mobil1 products) & stick the suction hose in it where it won't fall out.

3. Get an empty gallon container (plastic milk carton?) & stick the return hose in that & make sure it doesn't fall out

4. Have your helper start the car while you watch the fluid levels in the good & waste jugs. Let the system flush itself until you only have maybe a quart or so left in your "good" gallon of fluid, then stop the car.

5. Reconnect the hoses in the proper order, fill the reservoir with fluid, then start the car & do the lock to lock exercise in the other thread to bleed the system. You may need to buy another quart or two of P/S fluid to ensure the system is full & fully bled.

Now you've completely flushed & bled the system and you have brand new fluid in it!

The P/S & brake hydraulic systems are two of the most neglected systems on the car and they should be flushed every couple of years or so. Not to sidetrack this thread, but beware of the quick change places that will flush the brakes only at the calipers and neglect the ABS system. It has a quantity of brake fluid in it that must be flushed too, and unless you really know what you're doing, it requires a diagnostic computer and a Ferrari tech who knows what he's doing to flush it correctly.

 

I have done this on a Porsche 964 once. It does not take very long to go through 1 gallon of PS fluid. Maybe 90 seconds.