Whats with the Synthetic Power Steering FLuid?

[gkurtz]

My 92 owners manual says use only GM #12345866 Synthetic Power Steering Fluid. So I went to the local chevy dealer to buy the fluid. When he checked the part# he said its was discontinued. His inventory said he had a pint. He was surprised he had it. He said that I should use any Quality low temperature Fluid. The original GM bottle says it's a synthetic blend. I wonder if it's the same as the SYNTEC Synthetic Blend Power Steering Fluid.
Has anybody had any experience with using regular fluids?

 

[Vettefan87]

I put Valvoline Synthetic power steering fluid in mine a couple of months ago. I used a turky baster and sucked all the old fluid out and put new in and repeated a few times. Since I did that I have not had the dreaded "morning sickness". Hope that helps.


Justin

 

[gkurtz]

I put Valvoline Synthetic power steering fluid in mine a couple of months ago. I used a turky baster and sucked all the old fluid out and put new in and repeated a few times. Since I did that I have not had the dreaded "morning sickness". Hope that helps.


Justin

Was it a synthetic blend?

 

[Vettefan87]

Yeah I just went out and looked it is in a greyish bottle, Valvoline SynPower synthetic blend. This is the only one I could find at Auto Zone or Walmart so I just went with that.

 

[c4cruiser]

I'm running Red Line Synthetic PS fluid in my 87 autocross and track day car. The old fluid looked like it was original and I had heard that Red Line is an excellent fluid for high RPM operation. The local shop charges $8.00 per quart and it took about 3 quarts to change fluid with the turkey baster method.

 

[RoadReady]

I asked Gordon Killebrew about using a synthetic blend this weekend, as I could not find pure synthetic. He said the system was designed for pure synthetic and expected heat-related problems with standard PS or blends. He was very surprised that all the auto parts houses don't carry it.

FYI, he recommends pure synthetic transmission fluid for better performance and longer life, plus the trans will run cooler....reducing heat coming through the transmission tunnel!!

 

[gkurtz]

Ok so now I heard that pure synthetic fluid is hard to find. The chevy dealers say use regular fluid. What will happen in the long term if I use the Synthetic blend. What are the newer models using. Will the synthetic blend damage or cause my system to wear of fail prematurely. Is the RED Line pure synthetic and were can I buy it locally?