Gasoline and Power Steering Fluid

[DIYPTGUY]

So I was reading through my owners manual today, and I think I may have made some decisions lately that may not be beneficial to my PT. I am looking for some truth to verify whether I have possibly harmed it or not.

I recently filled my power steering fluid with valvoline instead of mopar which the manual says I should use. I think this may be a way for Chrysler to sell me their products, but maybe not... I also kind of overfilled.

I also have filled up my gas tank with premium gas for about the past 10 fill-ups. The manual says I should only use unleaded because it could harm the catalytic converter. This I find particularly scary. Damage to the Catalytic converter could be catastrophic. I thought filling up with premium gas was beneficial to all cars? Cleans fuel injectors? Helps the engine run more smoothly? Have I made a mistake???

[DIYPTGUY]

Also, after I start it up and im in idle, when I turn the steering wheel there is a little bit of a whine. Even after the power steering fluid fill up...

[Mean Green]

The filling of premium in a car designed for regular is doing nothing for your PT. The same additives are in all three grades of gas. You are wasting your money.

[CREWZIN]

All the gasoline you can find should be unleaded, no matter which grade you choose, and as MG just said, your just wasting yor money on buying premium unless you have the GT model or upgraded the Turbo Lite with Stage 1.

If there's any pumps around with the "leaded" gas, the nozzle will be too big to fit into your filler neck. They're designed that way so you don't put leaded gas into a car designed for unleaded.

As far the power steering fluid. Find something to drain the reservoir down to the proper level. The fluid has to have room to expand and contract as the steering is used.

You should almost never/ever need power steering fluid. It's a closed system. Find out where it's leaking from.

[warped]

Originally Posted by Mean Green

The filling of premium in a car designed for regular is doing nothing for your PT. The same additives are in all three grades of gas. You are wasting your money.

I agree about not benefiting from the higher octane but not all gas is the same. i have a buddy that works for shell and there are more additives in the premium. As for junk gas stations like caseys and many local gas stations use fillers in there gas. As for cleaning you injectors goto advance auto parts and get your self a can of seafoam. It has been around for years and just caught on in the last 3 to 4 years it is great!

[BLUEH20]

Power steering noise when turning the wheel-

The PT Cruiser does not have true power steering--it has power assist steering. That being said there is no fluid assist until the wheel is turned--fluid flow will generate a small aount of venturi noise. Also if you turn the wheel to the stops in either direction you will hear a greater amount of noise.

Some noise is normal. You do not indicate whether the noise you are hearing is an increase from anearlier time or just what has been present since new vehilc purchase.

All manufaturer's recommend thier priate lable products--all prodcts must meet a MIL-standard for that prodct. The brand name is notnearly as important in standardized products as meeting the correct specificaton.

[vtmdsm27]

Originally Posted by CREWZIN

unless you have the GT model or upgraded the Turbo Lite with Stage 1.

I just filled my tank in my 08 Vert T-Lite with the mid-grade, 89 octane BP gas. My computer displayed a higher mpg (increased from an avg 17.9 to 19.4 ) and I could swear it ran better. There must be something to this higher octane in a Turbo Lite.

[Teekypt]

I've heard of folks using regular in Turbos...but I know this is a no no...I only use Premium in my Turbo. But my dad has always used premium in all vehicle, whether they are high output or not....shoots, he uses it in our lawnmower!!!! LOL!

[CREWZIN]

Originally Posted by vtmdsm27

and I could swear it ran better. There must be something to this higher octane in a Turbo Lite.

Maybe, maybe not. If you feel it ran better, that's all that counts. I'm not gonna talk you out of buying the higher priced gas. All I can tell you is that Chrysler designed the Turbo Lite to run on low octane.

[Ironman]

Yes you are indeed wasting money, the Premium gasoline should only be used in cars designed to run it, you will find that since your vehicle is not tuned to run premium, it will idle rough, get worse gas mileage, and actually lose power. the octane rating has more to do with "ping" and less to do with power output. that is why you should always run it in turbo charged cars, because of the greater presence of oxygen in the combustion chamber the gasoline is more apt to detonate before the top of the stroke, the premium gas lessens the chance of this happening.

as for the power steering, that noise you hear may be the result of air in the system, possibly from a seal somewhere in the system, this is a common problem for PT's in colder reagions of the US.