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One of my maintenance items I was gonna perform this weekend was to drain and fill my PS fluid since I do not know the history of this car. Everywhere I read, this calls for ATF Mercon V so I bought some, but to my surprise this does not look like what’s in there now. Not sure how well the picture will show up but this looks like a blue fluid. It’s most definitely not red pink ATF.
Anyone got any opinions on what to do? I don’t want to mix anything if it’s going to be catastrophic. My thoughts are someone previously used some other type of PS fluid and already mixed it!
edit forgot to mention this is a 2010 V6
Last edited by Trucker_Kevin; Oct 25, 2025 at 03:55 PM.
Material Item Specification Fill Capacity MERCON® V Automatic Transmission Fluid
XT-5-QM (or XT-5-QMC) (US); CXT-5-LM12 (Canada) MERCON® V Keep fluid level between MIN and MAX on reservoir
As An FYI I Am Listing Ford Procedures For Power Steering. They Are a Bit Over The Top And Just For Your Reference!
Since You Have No Idea What is In It A Flush Would Be Great. But If it is Functioning Correctly and Has No Leaks and it is Just A bit Low Adding Probably Has Little Risk.I Know You Want To Drain But I Always Try & Address Relative Question other Readers of This Thread May Have. Is it Possible Your Fluid Is Just Real Dirty Or Does it Have a Distinct Color Like Blue Etc. Could Be An Additive Like a Stop Leak or Stop Squeel. Power Steering Systems Usually Squeel if Issues Are On The Way So Kind of Call it in the Air!
I Have on Some of My Older Rigs Used The {Return Side} of Auto Transmission Cooler Lines and Power Steering To Suck Up The New Fluid and Dump The Old Fluid in Jugs Until I Started Seeing Clean New Fluid. Just Saying {I Have Done it Not Saying It Would Be Doable on The Mustang System} as I Have Not Tried it! GOTTA BE RETURN Not PRESSURE SIDE!
We Used To Sell a Lot Of These BG Services Back At {The Ford Dealers} I Worked At & if Memory Serves Their Fluid Was Dark. Vehicle Could have Had One of These Services Back in The Day!
Forgive The Lousy Spelling on The PDf's! Been a Long Day!
It has a distinct blue color. kind of like a blue petroleum wheel bearing grease color, if you know what I mean. If you have ever taken a glob of wheel bearing grease in your palm to pack a bearing you’ll know that blue petroleum color. It has an oily slick rub to it, and it’s odor is undoubtedly that of an automotive fluid like smell, but so does ATF so now I am thinking someone may have mixed the wrong type of fluid in it. It does not look like burned ATF at all.
I am having no issues with the power steering. I did the inner and outer tie rod ends a few weeks back, and at first I thought the rack was leaking out of the boot, but I could not identify if the runoff I saw was coming from the actual rack or if it was runoff from somewhere else. So I made a mental note of it to check back,,,, I replaced the boots and cleaned it up well so any new leaks and ill know.
I was not really intending to flush it to begin with,,,,,, I was just going to use my siphon pump that I used for the transmission service and remove some PS fluid and replace it with fresh like say maybe the next few oil changes, just to slowly renew the fluid over time. At this point I just don’t know what step to take next. If it’s supposed to be ATF then maybe it’s wise to add what it’s supposed to have? It’s getting low anyway so I am going to have to add something.
I wonder if it looks blue because someone mixed what you showed in the above reply into the red ATF and this is the effect now by mixing the 2 different colors.
But nevertheless, I am pretty sure I am now overthinking this. If it’s is true that someone put the wrong “stuff” in there, then logic tells me that I need to get the “correct” stuff back into it irregardless. Right? If it’s gets damaged, well that is hindsight now anyway due to what the previous owner did and thems the breaks, I don’t see any other option than to restore it back to what Ford says should be in there.
Absolute worst case scenario,,,,,,, would need to replace the rack and pinion, the pump, and probably the lines down the road. (Pun intended lol)
I think at this point I’ll just remove what I can and replace with the proper Mercon V and hope that whatever is in there now won’t have any future harm. If anything, I would think the wrong type would just be incompatible with the seals and eat at them. Who knows.
Last edited by Trucker_Kevin; Oct 25, 2025 at 06:52 PM.
Well On That Note I Would Remove What I Can & Add The V! Keep an Eye on it And it It Stays Red A-OK! If Not You Could Pull out of Res. Again & Repeat. if You Like! One Way or Another The Previous Fluid Ratio Will Decrease. No Prob on Overthinking. We Have To Be Comfortable With What Works For The Car Owner and Just Take in Information As it Comes in.
I Will Say This The P/S System is Far More Forgiving Than an Automatic Transmission Where The Dollars Would Dictate a Flush Post Haste. The Old P/S Systems are Far More Durable Than These New Electric Ones! No Thanks on Those For Me!
I am very strange with my cars maintenance anyway and ill explain. Some people say I am wasteful, but if I buy my fluids with my money then it’s mine to waste, right?
For many many years now whenever I do an oil change I also drain out about 1 gallon of coolant and replace it, same thing with the PS fluids, I purge about a pint each time and brakes, when I do a brake job I drain the old brake fluid from the brake lines as well by letting the bleeders on the calipers drip until I have ran through about a bottle of DOT 3. I replace as many fluids on cars as I possibly can because I am aware of molecular breakdown and moisture content and other contaminations and they do not cost all that much. I also change my synthetic oil at 3000 miles even though it can go farther, I guess I am just sort of OCD but ask me when’s the last time I have done a radiator, heater core, rusted brake lines etc or have any sludge in my valves. Not since I was in my teens. I think I’ve done 1 water pump because the bearing wore, but inside the block it was so clean you could eat off it. This is why I was getting ready to purge my PS fluid and what prompted me to make this thread!
The way I look at it, a lot of people take their cars in and pay close to $100 for a synthetic oil change. For that same $100 I can buy all the stuff from Walmart, do the job myself and have new all fluids to boot. Since I do this each time, everything always stays fresh. I am the kind of person who keeps my cars, I hate payments.
Some people are miffed that we now have to add our transmission fluid via the plug now and I agree that is sorta stupid. But on the bright side, now there’s a plug on the transmission pan that we didn't have before so I can also swap about 5 quarts of ATF now while I am at the rest of it. Back in the day, I used to go to the “help” section of autozone and buy an oil drain plug repair piggyback kit, I would add it to my tranny pan so I can do future drain and fills after the initial filter swap. At least now I don’t have to do that anymore ha ha.
Told ya I was weird. But on the flip side, I let everything else go to hell including my house
