[ckracer76]

Hi all

Last night I was parking my S80 into a space and as I was manoeuvring and turning the wheels there was a horrible loud screeching sound and vibration coming through the steering wheel.

The sound got louder as I turned the steering nearer full lock (not a lot on the S80 granted...3 point turn more like 6 point turn) anyway I thought I'd better check the power steering fluid reservoir.

I popped the bonnet open and unscrewed the power steering fluid reservoir (completely ignoring the red letters printed in bold) WARNING USE CORRECT FLUID.

The reservoir screw cap has a built in dipstick with MIN and MAX markings and it was dry! I was horrified. How could I overlook this on my weekly checks.

It was 10pm so my first panic thought was all the car spares and dealers are closed. My next thought was drive to a my nearest Texaco fuel station and hope they stock power steering fluid. At the fuel station they had only one option Carlube by Tetrosyl Power Steering Fluid Red 1ltr £8.99 silver bottle. Suitable for most applications. I bought it and ran out to the forecourt to fill up my reservoir.

After a short drive back the steering noise disappeared and the steering felt lighter. All done disaster averted I relaxed and went back to work.

That is until I was telling my boss what happened and he said Volvo's don't take red power steering fluid they use green same as Volkswagen.

I choked on my tea!

What the hell have I done?
Turns out he was right. On closer bottle inspection I've put standard red power steering fluid in my car called Dexron III maybe also known as ATF? The green fluid I should have used is known as CHF11S. Carlube by Tetrosyl also make this and it comes in a black 1ltr bottle and it's double the price of regular red fluid.

Will it be ok? It all seems ok but this was only last night. Any advice greatly appreciated.

Christian