What type power steering fluid use on
1995 xjs
DEX111 should be fine.
Dex works, i use royal purple i would recommend replacing / purging all of the fluid. I would also recommend an inline filter.
If you are adding to an existing fluid, because its low. Before you add dexron make sure dextron is what is already in the pump. Adding dexron to “power steering fluid” the clear stuff, will cause the fluid to gel, and clog the rack.
That was my experience on the XJS. A rack and pump later…
I have had good luck using Lucas (yeah,Lucas) Oil PS stop leak on mine. It actually did stop a slight leak- still good after three years!
The fluid is DEXRON, there is no T in DEXRON!!!
bob
???!!!?? Please elaborate! Never heard of such a thing.
First I’ve heard of that, too. I think the XJ-S came with Dexron in the power steering, and I think that’s what I used to top it up, but I hadn’t heard that mixing Dexron and PS fluid was problematic.
Others have likewise reported good results with Lucas PS Stop Leak. As I understand it, most elastomers (nitrile, etc.) absorb various fluids and expand a bit. The grooves for O-rings and diameters of seals are designed for the intended working fluid; some smart guy figures out how much the elastomer is gonna swell and specs the dimensions accordingly. Lucas Stop Leak supposedly contains components that will cause the elastomers to swell a bit more than they would with the OEM spec fluid, thereby hopefully closing up the leaks.
Only my view and experience. I’ve topped off the LT1 style GM PS in my Jaguar with ATF. so far just fine,. Tightening the clamp on the reservoir stopped the loss.
Same with my Jeep. A burst hose blew out all the fluid,. I replaced the hose and topped off with ATF again. Same result.
I’m not about to “knock” the Lucas product. But, “seal swelling” does work. Up to a point. it continues and failure is merely delayed.
Some say, use I, when the leaks stop or slow, flush and replace with PS or ATF.
Indeed, a filter seems odd here. No combustion or other factor to contaminate the fluid.
A “cooler”, yes, used in some applications.
My cars do not have PS cooers? I do recall that one or two Fords had them.
Carl
Carl,
Both of our V12 equipped Jaguars (1990 XJ-S convertible, 1990 V12 Vanden
Plas) came from the factory equipped with power steering fluid coolers.
They are bolted to the top of the front subframe on the left side of the
engine bay beneath the power steering pump. My XJ6s do not have coolers
even though they use the same racks. I suspect the additional heat of the
V12 engine and the proximity of both exhaust downpipes to the rack led to
the need for the cooler.
Paul
The XJ-S does have a power steering fluid cooler.
Here’s the Story - short version.
I brought my 88 XJS Classic Jaguar service center, The first go around was the front and rear brakes, then a hose kit (V12). then a new rack. Nine grand later, I get a car where the emergency brake doesn’t work, a radiator that pisses coolant out of the core, air conditioning that no longer works, and the binical buckled from improper fitment, and an XJS that Veers at minimal steering input. I spent nearly 10 grand in service for the above mentioned items, and I still couldn’t drive the car. I could rant about this for ever, but the reality is it’s my own fault for taking the car back for service. I’ll just talk about the steering.
Before I go into this, I want to point out this was long before I spent much time in this forum and had Any Jaguar mechanical understanding. That being said,
A installed a rebuilt steering rack. I get the car back and it pulls hard to the right. I take in for an alignment, and the car goes straight, but the steering wheel was crooked, and the car was hard to turn, and at highway speed, it would veers with minimal steering input. I checked the power steering fluid to see what the level was, it didn’t register on the dipstick. I stuck a piece of metal rod, in farther than what the dipstick would reach, and pulled it out and the fluid was clear (and a bit thicker than I was use to seeing), so I added Dexron because that’s what it called for. that cured the hard steering - for a while. I took the car back, explained the veering and I get the car back still veering but a straight steering wheel. On my way back home, the power steering pump began to make the “out of fluid” noise. I stopped by the local auto parts store, checked the fluid level, and I had red gelatin not fully set on the dip stick; with really fine metal shavings in the embodied in the gelled fluid. I took the car back to the service department, they wouldn’t warranty their work because they said I put the wrong fluid in the power steering pump. With my tail between my legs, I took the car home; researched what type of fluid I should’ve put in, and Dexron was the right fluid. Over the weekend, I flushed the goo out of the system. then put Dexron in. the power steering pump whined at lock to lock input, I put the car on the ground and the hard steering was back. I contacted the vendor who supplied the rack, and they said the warranty was void because the inline filter wasn’t present in the system.
I said, I’d never heard of such a thing? The vendor said the filters are supplied with the rack.
I’ve never seen anything like what I’d experienced, and this was my introduction into Jaguar repair, not having any experience to draw from, other than GM cars. I wondered if this was normal. So that’s where the clear fluid and the filter came from. Since then I run Royal Purple steering fluid, which works amazingly well. I’m not sure if there is a benefit over regular Fluid but I’ve been happy with the results.
Based on the responses about the filter and fluid, this incident is, once a gain, isolated to me.
Wow…your story makes me angry! Your treatment is unacceptable at every level. Did you speak to the “owner” of the business??? You are owed a big refund!!!
Do you not have any consumer rights in America???
Those bastards. You need to go get stern with them. After all that money don’t let them walk on you. Part of the reason why most of us are on this forum are to learn to conduct the work ourselves. Plenty of us to help each other out if you have questions. I’m sorry to hear about your situation. Glad you haven’t given up on the old girl she’s worth keeping.
Those of us who have been around for a while may remember when J-L got embroiled with an irate business who was berated by name in the mail list. The business prevailed and J-L was required to sift through the archives and remove a lot of stuff. So perhaps we should be careful about naming names in Forum postings. It’s easy to just say “Contact me off-line for specifics.”
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