Power steering fluid
Does anybody know what type power steering fluid goes in a 1989 300gd?
Any good ATF fluid (red) will work. At the time of manufacture, it would have been Dexron-II.
The correct fluid is Mercedes Steering oil which is a slightly different spec to ATF but I agree with Arnie use ATF, its what ive been using for many years without a problem.
I might be wrong, but I think the MB Steering Oil, which is a light-yellow colour came in with the G500, 1999 onwards. Our 1991 300GD has always had red ATF from new - and the 1984, 300GD, before that. My 2001 G400 has the yellow, steering oil.
Dexron II is not right spec...if dexron than Dexron IID, but it has to be Merc spec fluid MB 236.3 for example LIQUI MOLY 3100....btw you are right fluid is yellow not red. Dexron II is red. dexron IID not.
General Motors, since the introduction of Dexron VI, a few years ago, have removed all licensing for previous Dexron products. Therefore any new fluids can only claim to be generally compatible with Dexron II (D) requirements, as there is no longer any formal testing or approvals for them. There is also no standard for colouring of auto transmission fluids, but Dexron types fluids and most ATFs have tended to be red.
Therefore, as there is no longer certification for Dexron-II fluids and since the specification was only for operating performance, rather than a specific formulation for the contents, it is good idea to stick to oils mentioned in the MB sheet, although in practice most new quality oils will be better than that.
I have switched to Fuchs 5000 SL, which is fully synthetic fluid surpassing Dexron II (E) - MB sheet 236.8
(Dexron fluids were evolved to be generally backwards compatible, so Dexron-III should perform better than Dexron-II. etc. However, the base oil viscosity in the latest Dexron-VI fluids is at the lower end of the older specification range. This is was done to reduce frictional churning losses in the gearbox. But, as the fluids are now synthetic they will not thin with age as much as the mineral oil based fluids.)
Cheers Arnie