Aftermarket power steering reservoir?
 

My PS reservoir is leaking pretty bad at apparent high track RPMs. Does anyone have any photos or experience with aftermarket reservoir setups?

I have a lot of room for another reservoir:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...ac0d3ea418.jpg

https://i.imgflip.com/2pt9q5.jpg

Fluid is boiling. Run synthetic PS fluid first, then add a cooler if that doesn't help

Thanks Sav!

Already running Mobile 1 synthetic ATF. Already have a cooler, although it has no dedicated ducting. Its just behind the heat exchangers and above the under-tray. I would have never thought I was boiling anything... I was putzing around the track

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...e49794f927.jpg
https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.mia...5e62a4a155.jpg

I can't imagine you're actually getting much air through that heat exchanger the way it's positioned up against the rack. Maybe if you offset it forward a little bit the air could actually flow through?

Makes sense - I should move it.

Most race cars will have some sort of vent line and high mounted reservoir for the power steering system. Vents out of the fill tube, filling a small reservoir as it boils, which drains back as it cools.

As Sav said, first step is synthetic fluid and a cooler, which you already have. You might look into a bigger/triple pass cooler, otherwise you're going to struggle a little to do much better than that. Increasing the capacity will also help, looks like you have plenty of room for an aftermarket reservoir. They're pretty simple in design, suction off the bottom and a return port somewhere on the side/top. Get one that has a cap you can drill/tap for 1/8npt, and run a line to a small motorcycle/tilton brake reservoir mounted somewhere above the main reservoir. This may require mounting it lower, like on the frame rail.

I had this issue in Acamas a couple of years ago. The local auto parts store had Redline ATF, which is what I tried, assuming I would swap it for something better later on. It cured the issue completely, so I never put anything better in later on. No idea how Mobil1 ATF compares, but the Redline stuff is worth a try.

I am wondering if I can just do this with the OEM reservoir. Drill and tap out the side to another smaller tank?

Yeah, Redline is good stuff. That's what I've got in mine, it's never boiled the PS fluid and the only cooler I have is the factory loop.

I have cracked two power steering pressure lines, though :-/

--Ian

This?

No, they make a specific power steering fluid

The NA rack calls for ATF.

Pulled this from amazon comments section discussing this question.

"Yes, you can use Red Line's D4 ATF. I talked to Red Line tech. 30404 has a lower temperature use range and somewhat different properties. D4 is their top of the line, higher viscosity for higher temps like you might experience when road racing or autocrossing. D6 is lower viscosity version of D4. The main difference is the anti-foaming additives in the PS fluid (absent in the ATF of the same viscosity), which prevent foaming due to PS pump action. "

Those anti-foaming additives in the PS fluid are what you need, though.

--Ian