How often to change power steering fluid based on time, not mileage

[hursst]

I have a '74 Camaro that I drive about 500 miles a year since I finished the restoration in 2010.  I've been having the power steering system flushed every 3 years, as obviously, I'll never meet a mileage spec on having a flush.  My "old school" mechanic that I use and trust for fluid flushes has retired, so I'd like to get some opinions.  What are folks' opinions on how often PS fluid should be flushed, purely based on time?  Thanks!

[kgreen]

First lesson, always make sure your Dr.'s, mechanics and lawyers are younger then you.  

 

I would surmise that the routine oil change on a frequently driven car would be based on the need to extract wear-based contaminants that accumulate.  Since wear-related contaminants are likely reduced, you would be left with environmental contaminants such as moisture.  Then over a longer (much longer) period of time, the old weakened seals may wear quicker and introduce contaminants more quickly than when new.  Since infrequently driven cars offer such a low statistical model for most predictions, I'd suspect that cost would be a predominant driving factor.  Replacing power steering fluid is inexpensive, I'd do it on a schedule that made me comfortable.  

 

Speaking of schedule, time flies and we restored that particular car further back than we realize.  Think I'll check in on fluids on a 7 year old restoration.  Thanks for the heads up.

[Chry54]

my car has a filter in the power steering system. i have changed it twice in 15,000 miles. i do not flush the whole thing. it has no dipstick. this is a 54 windsor. i use ATF.      chry54

[plymouthcranbrook]

I don’t think I have ever changed power steering fluid on any car I have ever owned. Never had so much as a little leak.  Not in my Volare which is 40 years old or the Chevy Astro that I traded last year after 18 years and almost 200,000 miles.  Never felt the need to do so.

[TexRiv_63]

I also have never changed PS fluid in any car I've owned in the last 57 years except when I rebuilt a gear or pump. The only time a dealer ever mentioned it on a new car was a early 2000s Honda and when I challenged the service manager on it he agreed it was probably not necessary.

 

[Robert G. Smits]

I change mine every 3 years except for my daily driver which I do every 20K miles

[Chry54]

on my daily drivers i use a turkey baster and pull out as much power steering fluid as i can from the reservoir and replace with fresh. some cars, like honda, require their own brand of fluid. i do this every oil change.   chry54

[joe_padavano]

I don't know about newer vehicles, but the factory service chart for the cars I care about don't suggest changing PS fluid, just checking it. As others have suggested, I've only changed it when servicing the system to replace components. Frankly this sounds like another fabricated service/maintenance cost like nitrogen filled tires.

 

[Bloo]

I don't do it based on time normally, but if car was awoken from a decades long sleep I would change most or all fluids, including the power steering. That goes double if the car was stored outside or in a leaky and/or unheated building. 500 miles a year since 2010? Only if there was something obviously wrong with it, wrong color, bad smell, metal sparklies, etc. There's no way that fluid should be bad already, and it it is, there is probably something wrong with the system.

 

Change your antifreeze and brake fluid every 2 or 3 years...

[Phillip Cole]

So, did you have it flushed in 2018?

Did your trusted mechanic say anything about discoloration, etc. in the fluid?

I do not have a 1974 Chevrolet Service Manual.  So the closest I can come is 1968, and that manual only suggests checking the fluid in the  ps reservoir occasionally and does not suggest a flush unless you have a ps problem. 

As mentioned above, it pays to change all the fluids when the car is new to you. So if you flushed it 2018, just check the reservoir for the next several years,unless you suspect a problem. 

 

[39BuickEight]

As some else mentioned, I, too, have never changed the power steering fluid in anything I have ever owned.  Never had an issue at all.  It’s just not something I was raised to do or think about.  No leaks, it stays full.  I drive.