99 S70 power steering fluid

[1999S70]

The manual says to use ATF. However, I have read on the internet that some people use the green Pentosin fluid. Does it make a difference?

[FlyingVolvo]

I think the most important thing is that you aren't mixing the two. Even though my 2000 XC states "ATF" in the manual, it came with the green Pentosin fluid. I've since done a full flush of that and use Mobil 1 Synthetic ATF.

If you have the green stuff in there now and want to keep it, just get the Pentosin and do the "turkey baster" method. Suck everything out of the reservoir and replace. Turn on the car, turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock a number of times, and then repeat the fluid change. Do this a few times and you should be golden!

If you want to switch from the green stuff to ATF, you want to do something more along the lines of a full flush. I pull the return line off the reservoir and attached a longer hose to it and led it to a bucket. Plugged up the hole where the return line usually goes into the reservoir. Jacked up the two front wheels, then had my dad turn the steering wheel lock-to-lock (car OFF) as I simultaneously poured new fluid into the reservoir which was being sucked down through the whole system and then dumped into the bucket. I flushed mine with about 2 quarts of the ATF. Then hooked everything back up, filled to the right level, turned on the car with the reservoir cap off, turned the steering some more lock-to-lock (trying to get air bubbles out if any), then checked the fluid again, top up if necessary, and voila.

My steering felt a million times better after all that! The stuff I had in there like I said before was some very nasty green Pentosin stuff. You can use almost any Dexron III fluid, and some people with leaking steering racks have had great success using certain Stop-Leak ATF (Valvoline I think?).

Hope that answers your questions and more!