Car Question (Steering Fluid)

[CaptainK]

Hello Guys,
Lately when I turn steering wheel it sounds......funny/not normal.
It is hard to describe the sound in words. It maybe sounds like stepping on an old wood fllor and it creeks, but not that loud.
I checked my power steering fluid and it was on the low side. So my thought is that it just needs more fluid. So my questions:

1) The type of fluid I think I should use is for cold climates, I live in Mass. and it does get cold during the winter months. (There is also a fluid for not cold climates) It says that if I use the cold climate type of fluid I should "flush and bleed the system prior to use"
Why can't I just add this fluid and be done with it?And if I do need to flush and bleed there are no instructions on how to do this. Any thoughts?

The fluid recommended is GM Power Steering Fluid no. 12345867/12345866 (for cold climates)
Are there any other fluids I could use/name brands??

I am getting all of the above info from my Chiltons Cavalier/Sunfire repair manual. I have a 98 Pontiac Sunfire GT

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
CaptK

[MEC]

As long as you have the cold climate fluid in there already, it would be OK to just add tha same type without flushing. If you have the other type in there, I would just add more of the same type. As long as it worked for you last winter. You should always use GM fluid in GM cars, and Ford fluid in fords. The two arent quite the same. Dont know about flushing the system, I've never had to do that......Mike

[drlowz]

Is the drive belt tight??

[hcp28]

You should probably flush the system just to be on the safe side. Most car repair manuals will show you how to do it and it really is quite simple. You can always top off the steering fluid if you are using the same kind of fluid, but mising different types of fluids is never a good idea. Another reason you may want to flush it is that you can check for leaks in your tubing or joints while your flushing your steering fluid. I mean the stuff has to be going somewhere right?

Henry

[ScottC]

Duct tape will fix just about anything. Add liberally.

Scott