How to Flush Power Steering System 2007-16 GMC Acadia

Hi, I'm Mike from 1AAuto. We've been selling auto parts for over 30 years.

In this video, we are going to be preforming a power steering flush on a 2010 GMC Acadia. You might be doing this if your power steering fluid is dirty or you replaced a steering component and having trouble bleeding the air out of the system. If you need any parts for your vehicle, click the link in the description, and head over to 1AAuto.com.

Pop the hood. Grad this lever. Pull up. Open the hood. The safety's right here. Pull it to the right. Remove this cover. We need to pull the oil fill off, and grab the cover. Pull up on the front, grab it back here, pull up on the back. There's a bunch of retainers that hold it down. Put the cap back on so no debris goes into the oil.

This is your power steering reservoir. This is your power steering cap. First thing we're going to do is we're going to suck the fluid out. We have one of these little pumps here and it's got a long straw on it so it can get really in there. And then we're going to stick it in our bottle. Now we'll just pump it. You could try using a turkey baster. You might have to add some kind of straw to get it in there, because the hole on this reservoir is kind of small.

As you can see, the fluid looks pretty dark and gross. We've got most of that out. We pulled that off.

All right, the next step. We're going to need to take this line off. But when we take this line off, we're going to need to put a plug right there. I'm going to show you a little plug, little trick that I did. Take a little piece of hose and then take a bolt and then put the bolt in the other end. And then when I slip that line off, I can stick this right on the end and that'll keep the fluid in.

I'm going to put some rags underneath here, because some fluid's going to come out. I'm going to take some pliers and take this lock ring off. I'm getting close to the end. Grab my plug in my other hand, so that I can do this quickly, so I don't lose too much fluid. There we go, just like that. Just a little bit and it's just got to keep the fluid in there. I used some locking needle nose pliers to open up that clamp.

Then I'm going to use some hose and I'm going to go from the inside here and it's going to take a little bit of effort, but it will go in. You want to try and get a good amount in, because we don't want this hose popping off when the engine's running. And that seems good. Now I'm going to pull the locking pliers off, which will secure it a little better.

Next we're going to install a transmission style funnel and just lock it in there. Nice, skinny funnel. I'm going to use a bottle and I'm going to put the hose into the bottle. That's where the old fluid's going to go.

We're going to put new ATF in. This vehicle, for power steering, takes Dex six. What we're going to do next is I'm going to have a partner start the vehicle for me and I'm going to monitor the fluid. I'm going to be adding fluid while he's doing that, and the fluid's going to coming out there. And at one point, I'll have him turn the steering wheel back and forth, and then we will shut the car off before all the fluid comes out.

Okay, start it up, and turn the wheel back and forth. All right, shut it off. It's that quick. All right, when we're pouring the fluid in here, it's getting sucked into the power steering pump and then it's going through the steering rack, going through all the lines, and then coming up here, and going into our bucket. And that's how you get a lot of the air out, and a lot of the dirty fluid. Take that out. You can pop this off down here. Some fluid's going to come out.

Now, with my finger on the cap of this, I'm going to pop my plug off real quick, and then push this on real quick. Just like that. Slide it over. I'm going to pull my rag out. There's still fluid in my funnel. I'm going to have our helper start the car and we'll just run the steering wheel back and forth.

All right, go ahead. Start it up. Okay, there is still fluid in my funnel. I'm going to pull it up quick and put my finger over the end. Hopefully not lose too much fluid. Let's see. The fluid's up to the top. I am going to have to suck some of that out. I'm going to suck some of the fluid out with this pump. Got to stick this in here.

Okay, it's right up at the top, and that's where we want it right now, for when we're going to let it run for a little bit. We'll leave the cap off for now, while we let it run. Okay, we're going to start it up. We're going to let it run for about five minutes like that. After the engine's been running for about five minutes, then we're going to get in it with the wheels off the ground a little bit, and turn the wheels back and forth, not staying on the stop for too long, just hitting the end and then coming back. I want to do that a couple times, maybe about five to 10 times total.

And then we're going to leave the steering wheel straight. And then we'll shut it off. At this point, we're going to check our fluid level. I'm just going to top it off just a little bit. I just want it closer to the max line.
At this point, you would take the car for a ride, drive it for about five to 10 minutes, come back, and you would check the fluid level again, and adjust accordingly. We'll pull the oil cap off. Put the engine cover back on. Push it down. Fill cap back on.

Thanks for watching. Visit us at 1AAuto.com for quality auto parts, fast and free shipping, and the best customer service in the industry.