mtgldr

Much debate about flushing the power steering fluid however, if you want to do it, it’s really easy on this car. I have a 2010 GT. Never been under the hood of a Coyote but if the reservoir is in the same place I would think it’s the same.

You will need a way to empty the reservoir, a large towel size rag, a 3/8 vacuum cap, a 3/8 vacuum hose union, a 2.5’ long section of 3/8 hose, large clear container, breaker bar or suitable way to loosen the serpentine belt and 2 qts. of Mercon V Ford Trans fluid. Optimally you also want to lift the front of the car high enough to get the front tires off the ground, you don’t have to do this but it makes things a lot easier. The most important thing you need to do during this process is keep looking at the reservoir, do not let it get below the low mark. You can fill the reservoir almost to the top while you’re doing this because there is no pressure and it won’t spill over.

I remove the CAI then loosened the serpentine belt and removed it from the alternator, leave the belt just laying there and you won’t have to reroute it. Lift the front tires off the ground. Then remove all fluid in the reservoir. I tried the turkey baster but I couldn’t get it all so I used the vacuum I use to flush / bleed brakes. $20 at Harbor freight.

Once the reservoir is empty move the hose clamp on the return line (smaller hose) down so you can remove the hose from the reservoir. Lay the large rag below the power steering pump, have the vacuum cap handy as well as the 2.5’ section of hose, preinstall the union in one end of the hose.

Twist and remove the small hose from the reservoir, push the cap onto the reservoir return nipple. Take the 2.5’ hose and push the union into the factory return hose. Run the other end of the hose into your clear container (I used a milk jug but a clear container would have been much better to see the fluid color). At this point the return nipple to the reservoir should be capped and the return hose should be joined to the 2.5’ hose section on one end with the other end of the hose in your clear container.

Refill the reservoir with fresh Mercon V. Rotate the PS pump clockwise until fluid begins to flow from the hose into the container. I ran the fluid to the low mark by hand to ensure the pump had fresh fluid in it. Be careful not to let the fluid drop below the level of the large hose on the reservoir, that’s the supply hose for the PS pump.

Refill the reservoir and unlock the steering wheel, turn it slowly from lock to lock. Watch the color of the fluid as you do this, you will see the old fluid coming out. You can only do this twice and the reservoir almost be empty. Watch the reservoir and don’t let it get low, you don’t want air in the system. Refill the reservoir and repeat. I alternated filling the reservoir, turning lock to lock and then in between turned the pump by hand. Each quart will get you about two hand turns and two lock to locks.

Midway thru my second quart the fluid was new and pink coming from the hose. At this point I spun the pump by hand until it hit the low level mark and verified the fluid was clean and new. Now comes the tricky part... Remove the 2.5’ hose from the return line keeping the return hose pointed upwards so it doesn’t drain. With the return hose in your left hand slowly remove the cap installed on the reservoir with your right. If you do this slowly and then slide the hose onto the nipple you will only loose about a tablespoon of fluid and it will spill onto the large rag. Move the hose clamp back into place on the return hose on the reservoir. Fill the reservoir to midway between the high and low marks and turn the wheel once more from lock to lock, there should be little to no drop in fluid.

Put the belt back onto the alternator and look to be sure the ribs are all in proper place on all other pulleys. Remove the large rag, wipe down anything necessary.

With everything out of the engine bay start the car and check to be sure there are no leaks. The car will idle for about 30 seconds and not throw codes without the CAI installed as long as the MAF is plugged in. Turn the steering wheel lock to lock twice to purge any remaing air. Don’t hold it at either lock just hit the lock and rotate in the other direction. Return the wheel to straight and shut the car off. Check for leaks, lower car, reinstall CAI, fill reservoir to proper level.

This took about 40 minutes and cost less than $20 including vacuum cap, union and fluid. I had a piece of hose and the bleeder in the garage.
I can't seemed to get the pics where I want them in the post but hopefully they make sense.

808muscle

Fresh fluid is better but how many many miles does your car have? I just put in a Moroso PS tank. Just refilled with Mercon V. Never even thought about a flush. But I only have 32k miles on my car.

mtgldr

Bought it with 89K, PO never changed changed any fluids but oil. Been replacing everything as time allows. Fluid was deep deep red and the PS whined a tiny bit, it's perfect now. It's amazingly easy on this car. Not like previous car where I had to drop a line and put a drain pan under the car. Also no air in the line because of the tank design.

808muscle

Ah it was whining, enough said I would have swapped it too. Since the PO wasn't keen on maintenance what about the plugs? Are you gonna do them now? Or have you already?

mtgldr

Very slight whine....
Plugs are done, had the fluid & filter changed on trans, rear gear, bearings & lube changed, replaced front & rear Pads (they were junk), flushed brake system, put on 2012 Front Rotors, calipers & brackets . Shocks were changed to Tokico D-Spec. Coolant looks new so I may just drain & refill. I've had it @ 9,000 miles / 5 months. Once I'm caught up, I can just drive it.... until the next mod.... LOL

808muscle

Good to see your on it. It's a great looking ride. Red with black wheels is a classic combo.

Goldenpony

In the past I have flushed a few power steering systems. All I did was to remove the return line from the pump, let the engine idle and keep pouring fresh fluid into the reservoir. I just watched the fluid coming out of the return line into a bucket. when the fluid started looking clean, I shut off the engine, replaced the return line and added fluid to the reservoir until it was full. turn the wheel lock to lock a few times and watch the level. Worked for me and it was easy.

cavediver

On all my cars I use a turkey baster and empty the PS reservoir and refill with fresh fluid at each oil change. Very simple and very effective. I have cars with 200,000 miles and the PS fluid is clear and smells fresh.

Goldenpony

Good idea!

BrianK

I also use the turkey baster method for the PS too. Yes it is only a partial change but it does keep the fluid clean.
I do kind of the same with the auto transmission - yearly drain and refill with a filter change about every 4 years (about 10K miles per year). I installed a dipstick so it is easy to refill. If I had to take the pan off, I'd change the filter every time but with the drain plug it is just too easy to drain the fluid and refill.