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1954 DeSoto Power Steering Fluid Specifications


Ovalrace25

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Guest Bob Call

First, get a shop manual for your DeSoto, they are all over ebay. I have a 52 Imperial and I'm pretty sure it has the same PS system as your 54 DeSoto with the PS pump driven off the rear of the generator. My Chrysler shop manual specifies 10W motor oil for the PS fluid. If yours is like mine, if you open the PS canister on the rear of the generator you will find an oil filter inside. You can buy these filters from parts stores like NAPA, Advance, O'Rielly, etc. Finding 10W non-detergent motor oil may be a little difficult, but, you can find and order it on the internet. The design of this Chrysler Corporation PS system is different than modern PS systems. So, I would recommend that you get and use 10W motor oil rather than ATF since the system was designed to operate with 10W motor oil as the hydralic fluid.

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Guest martylum

Rod-now you have conflicting advice. My info comes straight from my 1955 Desoto shop manual and I drive a 55 Desoto. ATF is a hydraulic oil. I'm pretty sure the 54 Desoto uses the same Eaton pump as a 55. Guess you'd better get info from a 54 DeSoto or Chrysler shop manual to settle the conflict.

Marty Lum

1955 DeSoto

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I have the 1954 Master Tech training book for the coaxial power steering system and it specifies 10W motor oil for normal use as stated above. In fact it says 5W should be used for operating temps below 10 degrees F and 30W can be used in areas of high ambient temperature.

Terry

Edited by TerryB (see edit history)
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I Have a 1954 Desoto firedome and my owners manual calls for SAE 10 W IN THE POWER STEERING AND SAE 5 W IN ZERO WEATHER. HOPE THAT HELPS. lET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE Bill

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In the back of the www.imperialclub.com website, you can find ALL of the Chrysler Master Tech training items, up until the later 1960s, I believe. Early ones were film strip with workbook based. Quite interesting and informative!!!

ONE thing to remember is that "fluids" were usually based on what was available in the marketplace, back then. Convertible top hydraulics usually used "brake fluid" as that was something which every service station has some of. Power steering units could have started out with 10W motor oil, later changing to Type A ATF as that fluid became more available in the outside world.

ONE thing to also remember about any hydraulic system . . . the fluid that is spec'd for it has a certain additive package which all of the seals, hoses, and other internals are designed to work with. NOT just a viscosity spec by itself! By the time the earlier 1960s arrived, Chrysler and GM had their own respective "Power Steering Fluid", yet the many service station service manuals advised that ATF was fine to use as a "top-off" power steering fluid alternative. For a few ounces here and a few ounces there, it was not a big deal . . . . BUT on those Chrysler products I've purchased which had "red" running off of the power steering cap's dipstick, that top-off with ATF had been going on for some time. The rubber lines were seeping "red fluid" from them, too! So I suctioned-out the red fluid from the reservoir, then refilled it with correct Chrysler PSF, ran it enough to get the air purged from the system (per Chrysler procedures). Getting the CORRECT fluid in the power steering system also caused the hose seeps to stop, too!

So . . . it's NOT just about the viscosity, it's ALSO about the additive package the system's rubber items are designed to work with. GM still has their dedicated power steering fluid in their chemical catalog . . . still in use today, as in the past. I use it in my GM and Chrysler psf systems. GM also catalogs a "cold climate" psf, too, which is suspected to be a part-synthetic oil blend.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

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