Power steering cooler

[Mr Ree]

Hi TS'ers

I was wondering what the ideal temperature would be for PS fluid in a 2JZ?

I am considering upgrading my radiator on my jza80, from the manual 5spd core, to a core from an auto TT. This of course has the trans cooler at the bottom of it which will be redundant, unless....I can use it for my PS fluid.

I have spent alot of time googling this topic for info, and as such, I have found a large cross section of opinions on both sides of the fence. Im hoping someone here might have some first hand information rather than forum hearsay.

I havent boiled my PS fluid at the track yet, but given the size of the factory PS cooler, its probably only a matter of time before it starts becoming a problem, so I would rather deal with it before it becomes an issue rather than having to clean up PS fluid from all over my engine bay.

Thanks for any info you can share

[Mr Revhead]

Have you tried contacting the maker of the oil you use to fine the temps the fluid is made for?

[Mr Ree]

No I havent, Mr Revhead. After reading about PS systems, and their fluid, I am looking at potentially changing to a new synthetic oil that can handle alot higher temps.

At present Im just using dextron 3 I think, and from what I could tell, it has the same temp window as an auto trans, give or take.

That in itself was the inital reason why I thought this might work.

Once I decide on a new PS fluid, I will contact the manufacturer for some data.

Cheers

[Mr Revhead]

Dextron 3 is auto trans oil

[deaf_rattle]

Dextron 3 is auto trans oil

auto trans fluid is better for ps systems than ps fluid.

Just run the auto trans fluid as you are doing now.

I run an upgraded ps cooler, (half the size of my oil cooler).

[Mr Ree]

Dextron 3 is auto trans oil

Yes, I know it would have seemed odd when I typed that

[Dell'Orto]

Fork out for fancy Penrite PSF?

[rollaholic]

i've wondered this myself, surely if its good enough for a trans cooler...

i've got a new radiator in my SR20VE powered pulsar, which has the redundant trans cooler in it. the factory cooler is just a looped steel line that runs across the front of the AC core. wouldnt take much to redirect it to the trans cooler - if nothing else the increased amount of fluid in the system would surely help in dealing with the heat.

[allencr]

Aren't those radiator lines a lot smaller/restrictive then the usual PS high pressure line?
The pump gens the heat, not the rack, and it assists too much for the street & track, so I'd look at lowering its output pressure & get some feel & HP back.

[Mr Ree]

I presume the idea would be to put the cooler on the return line to avoid pressure building up.

[rollaholic]

yeah the factory cooler loop on the pulsar is just low pressure hose clamps etc.

though, i do have an un used transcooler here too - maybe i should whack that on it instead.

[Mr Ree]

Thats a far safer idea but you need to be sure its not going to overcool it.

How big is the core you have?

[sergei]

I don't think you can "overcool" PS fluid. It does not really have "operating" temperature.

I run small auto trans cooler instead of factory loop, works OK.

[Mr Ree]

Thats what I have been trying to find out, but I would be surprised if it didnt have a window it prefers to operate in atleast.

If that turns out to be the case, I might look into a small, external, tranny cooler, as that will cool it far more than the radiators bottom tank ever could given that the water is around 82-90 degrees.

I need my laser temp gun and thermo couples to arrive so I can start getting actual temp data rather than guessing.

[rollaholic]

well its far bigger than it needs to be, but i sort of had the same theory as sergei - temperature being not so important for PS fluid. (as long as its not too hot obviously)

but i would love to find out otherwise, learning stuff is good.

[2LTR Rona]

I don't think you can "overcool" PS fluid. It does not really have "operating" temperature.

I run small auto trans cooler instead of factory loop, works OK.

As passed on to Mr Ree in a PM.....

My Altezza is running this setup, installed by previous owner due to PS fluid boiling over at track.

Personally I have not seen or felt an issues or side effects when driving the car (car is a daily & not being tracked) & that includes a drive through Desert road the other week while snowing lightly.

Personally I dont think too cold is going to be too much of an issue, it will naturally warmed up somewhat from teh engine bay temps anyway (to a certain point)

Its the other end of the scale you want to keep down