power steering fluid damaging to hoses?

As a conditioned XJ owner I'm not too alarmed by a small power steering fluid leak. While I'm tracing that, I've heard that power steering fluid rots rubber, is that true. Small drip develops on bottom of lower radiator hose. Should I hasten the ps fix before I blow lwr radiator hose.

ummmm correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't it actually flow through some rubber hoses? if so... how could it be damaging to rubber

Maybe he is thinking of Brake fluid?

Reminds me of a bad experiance in the army..

after 30 days in the field.. we had a command inspection..

One trooper in my scout platoon thought it would be cool to make the tires black/shine on his Humvee... so he rubbed them down with brake fluid. hell he even rubbed it all over the body.. A BIG NO NO for CARC paint...Needless to say.. 3 weeks later his tires where cracked... and his CARC paint was usless,the Maintence CO was not impressed... Changing out tires on one is not fun.....and they had to deadline the vehicle.. another big no no in the Army.. poor guy got a article 15 and lost 30 days of pay...

lol.... then again.... dont you have rubber hoses in the rear for the brakes? Maybe it's a special type of a rubber? Or maybe the humvee had some sort of a uniquely corrosive brake fluid?

Kejtar said:

lol.... then again.... dont you have rubber hoses in the rear for the brakes? Maybe it's a special type of a rubber? Or maybe the humvee had some sort of a uniquely corrosive brake fluid?

Click to expand...

Probably...

nope, brake fluid wont corrode through rubber. I use it on my door seals to "puff" them back out. Works great!

imma honky said:

nope, brake fluid wont corrode through rubber. I use it on my door seals to "puff" them back out. Works great!

Click to expand...

Well... that explains the cracked tires...

JGXJ,

We must both have read the same thread, because I remember reading that same thing a couple of days ago. (I havn't been to JU in months)

Then I remembered that the return line to the PS reservoir is rubber.

My leaks seem to be from the reservoir cap.

Here's the link to that thread -- see MUDDAWG

Originally posted by imma honky
nope, brake fluid wont corrode through rubber. I use it on my door seals to "puff" them back out. Works great!

?????????

my response was more to ringkong, he said maybe JGXJ was thinking of brake fluid (rotting through rubber). I was told to rub brake fluid on rubber door seal to "puff" them out to original size for a proper seal. I tried it almost 6 months ago and it has worked great. I have not seen any cracking or rotting yet.

yeah... I'm looking for a more detailed explanation for that
You mean put it like on a rag and just run it along the rubber? cause my rubber could use a lift (not that kind of a lift LOL)

Kejtar

exactly, put some on a rag, rub it once, let dry, then do it again. It also makes it shine a little. I cant gurantee you will have the same luck i did, but i havent seen anu cracking or rotting yet, and i have done it twice.

hmmm I wonder what will it do to a slightly cracked rubber....

Mil spec brake fluid since ~90 is silicone dot5, I remember when the support center in Bordentown NJ did the switch on everything and we spent a week driving 1/4 tons, M880's and 2 1/2 tons back and forth, the 5 tons and hemmets already had it OEM. Then WE had to do the M113's, 577's, M109's and FIST V's. The older dot3 and 4 will remove paint.
I don't think PS fluid will hurt rubber but I use silicone spray, the same spray I use on my Hanson ski boot liners AFTER I wipe them down with clean soapy water to get all the sand and dirt off.

Rich P is correct. DOT 3 and DOT 4 brake fluid are absolutely destructive of paint. I would not use it on my door seals, unless I knew the seals wouldn't ever touch the doors -- in which case there wouldn't be much point.

The original post was about power steering fluid, which is a different animal. PS fluid is basically auto tranny fluid and should not be harmful to rubber.

DOT 3 and 4 brake fluid, and DOT 5 silicone, are compatible with the SPECIAL rubber used for seals, O-rings, and hoses of brake lines. These fluids are non-petroleum products.
DOT 3 and 4 may or may not be compatible with rubber products intended for petro-based fluids (engine oil, tranny fluid, PS fluid, gasoline, many workshop solvents).

Petro-based fluids are NOT compatible with rubber intended ONLY for DOT 3 and 4 fluids. This includes the O-rings in MC's and Proportioning Valves.
Contact of a petro solvent with these seals will destroy them. In case of accidental contact, clean immediately with detergent-water, then follow with Brake System Cleaner.
Don't ask how I know this.

Since the rubber 'booties' on caliper pistons and wheel cylinders may contact brake fluid (from their insides) and petro products (road oil, etc.) on their outsides, they are of special formulation to resist both brake fluid and petro products.
I *think* brake lines are multi-layered, with different formulations of rubber for the inside vs outside. The inside only has to resist brake fluid, the outside has to resist oil, salt, UV rays, and spilled/leaking brake fluid.

Bottom Line:
Never EVER apply petro products to rubber INSIDE a brake system.
ALWAYS check before applying DOT 3 or 4 to any non-brake system rubber.