Suitable Power Steering Fluid

[318Touring 40]

I need to top up the E87's PS fluid.

Unsure which ATF fluid I should use as supercheapauto has different brands etc.

The cap says ATF Oil Only

SCA

It's a 2006 118i, auto.

Edited April 27, 2013 by 318Touring

[my_e36 43]

If it says ATF, use anything that meets Dexron 3 standard.

But do find out WHY you need to top up. There may be a leak somewhere in the system.

[Jono51 58]

I need to top up the E87's PS fluid.

Unsure which ATF fluid I should use as supercheapauto has different brands etc.

The cap says ATF Oil Only

SCA

It's a 2006 118i, auto.

we have fluid available

can also check for leaks and remedy them for you

cheers

Jon

04 3801089

[hybrid 1040]

It doesnt matter what you use its gonna leak out anyways, its a BMW.

[318Touring 40]

Thanks gang, it's the N46 engine which apparently leaks from everywhere.

I pulled the underbody panel, cleaned everything, can't see anything that was dripping oil. From looking at how oil had been distributed along a narrow part of the bottom right of the engine, seems that the power steering pump is the source. Coupled with low PS fluid I can safely say that PS pump is the cause.

On top of that this guy was talking most common leaks on N46 engine, and PS pump is one of it (youtube).

The seal between the PS pump and coolant pump gives way, apparently. I won't be bothered replacing the pump ATM with one costing US$400+. I looked very hard, left it overnight and still couldn't see even any oil dripping, and I spent hours on the weekend under the engine. Would be safe to say that it's a (very) slow leak.

I also suspect that the oil sensor (no dipstick!!) might be misbehaving with sending erroneous low oil message inconsistently. The best way to ascertain whether it is not broken, is to drain the oil and measure how much you have collected. If it's low then the sensor is fine, otherwise replace sensor. Hence I might as well get the car serviced, and ask the garage to measure the oil level.

This is starting to annoy me as my E60 and E36 had been very reliable (apart from the Active Steering error message from time to time).

Jon. I'll PM you re sourcing a bottle and other stuff