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Natural Science Forum / Chemistry / General Chemistry / December 2006What is in my hydrolic fluid?
Its a white color. It came out of my power steering. My brother put some in his vacume chamber and thought this would take the air out of the fluid. I had told him I thought it was air mixed with hydraulic fluid. Didn't work. Next he heated it to 140degrees and tried again. Nothing but a small layer of clear fluid on top. He now thinks its water. So how can we figure this out without any fancy equipment. Should we raise temp to boiling point of water? But would this tell me what it was air or water? If we could get this clear fluid out of there is there a test specific for water. And this is a home project so recources are limited. Rosco Dear Butter: > Its a white color. It came out of my power steering. My > brother put some in his vacume chamber and thought > this would take the air out of the fluid. I had told him I > thought it was air mixed with hydraulic fluid. Didn't > work. Next he heated it to 140degrees and tried again. > Nothing but a small layer of clear fluid on top. Water doesn't float on oil. > He now thinks its water. So how can we figure this out > without any fancy equipment. Should we raise temp to > boiling point of water? But would this tell me what it > was air or water? Probably a solvent. Alcohol, or something like that. > If we could get this clear fluid out of there Might be a bad idea. Might be providing some "enviromental protections", or preventing aging of the seals. > is there a test specific for water. Yes, does the liquid float on the oil, or vice versa? Water is more dense than oil. Water will dissolve salt, oil will not. > And this is a home project so recources are limited. Why are you doing this? Did you have a power steering pump fail? The fluid can be made milky by passing over the relief valve. Are you having difficulty in steering? David A. Smith . > > is there a test specific for water. > [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > The fluid can be made milky by passing over the relief valve. > Are you having difficulty in steering? Clear liquid is floating on top OK so its not water Why- because my brother is retired and not interested in the thousands of usefull projects I suggest. Now that he's given up I'm wanting to know. I don't like quitters "The fluid can be made milky by passing over the relief valve." I don't know what this means unless air was leaking in there. it would become milky at that point in the system. I can't see what else could get into the system besides air. I got all this by draining it out of the power steering. No problem steering if I change some of the fluid every once in a while. It will be ok for a few months. Rosco Dear Butter: >> > is there a test specific for water. >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Clear liquid is floating on top > OK so its not water > Why- because my brother is retired and not > interested in the thousands of usefull projects I > suggest. Now that he's given up I'm wanting to > know. I don't like quitters Have some tolerance. You will see what you call quitters from time to time. Their time may not have come. > "The fluid can be made milky by passing over > the relief valve." I don't know what this means [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > air. I got all this by draining it out of the power > steering. Air won't give you a clear liquid under a vacuum, unless you dropped the temperature way below zero. Lets assume the clear liquid is an intentional component of the hydraulic oil mixture. A power steering system is a hydraulic pump, a proportional directional control valve, and a hydraulic motor (of sorts). The relief valve is thrown in to protect the hydraulic components from rupture. When fluid passes across the relief valve, it pressure drops from ~4-800 psi to very near zero. A shock is created, and some of the more volatile components become gas. And yes, if there is some entrained gasses in the oil, they will add to the "milky" color. All that energy also goes to heating this fluid, and the surrounding components. As you can imagine, this will be hard on the oil. > No problem steering if I change some of the > fluid every once in a while. It will be ok for a > few months. Most common sources of the milky color in PS fluid is water or air. But if you are changing the oil, get the system up to operating temperature (driving at least 5 minutes), and it gets milky again in "months"... it sounds like failed / failing components. I assume you keep the cover on the reservoir, and are careful to bleed the power steering, including 10 minutes of operation with the cover off, turning the steering wheel gently from side to side? I'd *guess* you had fluid blowing by the gear box, a leaky PS pump, or simply a setting too low on the relief valve. This could trash the oil. Using a wrong brand / viscosity oil in there might have an effect also. You might check on an automotive newsgroup... David A. Smith > Its a white color. It came out of my power steering. My brother put > some in his vacume chamber and thought this would take the air out of [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > what it was air or water? If we could get this clear fluid out of there > is there a test specific for water. Anhydrous copper(II) sulphate becomes blue with water, but absolutely certain characterisation probably needs a physical measurement of some kind. And this is a home project so > recources are limited. > Rosco |
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