How to Fill and Bleed Power Steering Fluid System 1998-2012 Ford Ranger

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In this video, we're going to be working with our 2001 Ford Ranger 4.0-liter V6. We're going to show you how to fill and bleed your power steering system. This is useful for anytime your power steering level has gone low, whether it be from a leak or replacing a power steering component that caused you to have to drain the fluid. This procedure will properly fill the system and bleed it of any air bubbles, making sure that you get the proper amount of steering assist, as well as removing air pockets from the system and making sure all the parts get lubricated properly.

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Here are the items you'll need for this procedure: jack and jack stands, funnel, transmission fluid

We're using a lift, but you can use a jack and jack stands to get the front tires of your truck off of the ground. This way we don't have a lot of resistance when we initially bleed the power steering system.

Remove the cap on your power steering reservoir and install a funnel. These particular trucks don't use power steering fluid. They actually use the same automatic transmission fluid that their transmission uses. In this case, it's Mercon V.

Fill the reservoir completely with fluid. You may want to leave a little bit of air space at the top to prevent it from splashing out, but we'll leave our drain bucket under the truck just in case.

Now we'll start the vehicle and move the steering wheel left until it locks, and bounce it off of the lock position a couple of times. Then we’ll repeat this process in the other direction. You’ll hear as the system quiet down as it fills. Then it will start to whine again from air in the system. At this point, we'll top it off and repeat the process until the whining noise stops.

Start your vehicle. Bring the wheel all the way in one direction to the lock a couple of times and release. Then go all the way in the other direction.

Check your fluid level and top off if necessary. Our fluid is right up top, so we'll lower the weight of the vehicle back onto the tires. Now, there'll be a little more resistance on our steering components, and that should force out any remaining air in the system. Check your fluid again. Top off if necessary. Then reinstall the cap. You're now ready to test drive your vehicle.

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