Dilemma
 

My step daughters C70[2001 "Y" 2.4lpt manual]has always had a very small leak from the power steering reservoir but now it's gone big time making the car undriveable.a new reservoir and cap are on order,the dilemma is this,as far as I understand it the power steering fluid should be CHF however her car has always had red ATF[well it had when she bought it 3+ years ago]in it without issues apart from the small leak.Is there a definitive way of telling what should be in there? I have read that if the reservoir is on the pump it should be ATF and if it's at the side of the header tank it should be CHF however this does not seem to hold water as my V reg V70 has the reservoir by the header tank but has always[since before I bought it 8 years ago]had ATF without problems.So when I fit the new reservoir do I just go with the ATF it's had for more than 3 years or do I flush the system[how much fluid would it take to accomplish this?]and go with CHF?

atf is what was used years ago chf is a modern version it would take at least a couple of litres to change it but if all is working as it should and you have no leaks why take the risk of the chf finding any possibility's of one stick with what you have but replace with new.

Volvo changed to CHF across the range in around 1999 - it could have been connected with Ford's takeover. I'm with Simmy on this. If the ATF has worked without issues for all this time, why change to CHF and risk problems of contamination. I would use ATF and at least you will know for sure what is in there and can top up - if necessary - with compatible fluid in the future.

I'd be saying stick with ATF as well, it's a fairly primitive system, it will be fine. But if you do change, the circulating volume is very low, < 1 litre I think.

I am sure your daughter's car should have the green CHF which is the specification for the year of manufacture.

If red ATF has been added in error at some point it dilutes the green stuff and makes it look a brownish red colour; it leads people to believe that is old and heavily used red ATF which does go brown after long use.

When I bought my 2005 C70 the seller "kindly" topped up the steering reservoir with the red stuff just before I picked it up, having noticed it was slightly low. What had been green when initially viewed had gone brown!!

The system was flushed through the day after I got it home, some 7 years ago - the later seals are not compatible with red ATF and can rot through leading to dramatic loss of power steering when it suddenly goes heavy.:nerd:

The CHF and ATF reservoirs had different writing/colour on their caps. White for ATF and confusingly red for CHF.

Bob.

My 2000 P1 V70 has a black cap with red writing so from that comment I have to assume CHF? I will have to syringe some out to see what I have. Did think it was a "dark" colour rather than a straight forward red or green. I've never had to top it up.

The first time the reservoir was topped up after she bought it it was definitely red fluid that dripped off the "dipstick" so that's what we went with.The reservoir had been removed before for some reason this is known because the clip that holds it to the header tank was broken[previous owner[s] had not looked after the car very well at all].My feeling is that we'll go with the idea of ATF unless in swapping the reservoir something else is revealed then if any problems show up later[though I don't see why they should after all this time]then we'll go with a flush and change to CHF.
Thanks for taking the time to post responses people.

When I bought my C70 - full Volvo history at 50,000miles - I couldn't tell what fluid was in the reservoir. It was black! No hint of green or red. Even wiping a small amount on white paper didn't reveal the original colour. So a full flush with new fluid and then topped up. After 17,000 miles it is still the original green colour.

2000 is just about the change so if red writing on a black cap pretty certain it's CHF. The original Ownner's Handbooks are pretty good so if you have it and want to check look there.

Nothing changes re your the colour! Black sludgie is 'Well Used' and well past it's sell-by-date like my V70 when I first got it. You only had to touch the steering wheel and the pump made the most horendous noises as well as a slight leak from one ram seal.

Cleaned the whole system out and now use a mix of Liqui Moly ATF and Lucas Power Steering Stop with highly satisfactory results with exceptionally minimal leak or noises from the system.

Bob :)