(bÄsh) v. bashed, bashÂ·ing, bashÂ·es. v.tr. 1. To strike with a heavy, crushing blow: The thug bashed the hood of the car with a sledgehammer. 2. To beat or assault severely: The police arrested the men who bashed an immigrant in the park.
What is this? In power rack-and-pinion steering, fluid pressurized by the pump pushes on either side of a piston mounted to the rack, helping you turn the wheels. Simply put, power-steering fluid is the hydraulic fluid that transmits the power in power steering. Servicing it involves draining or flushing out your car's old power-steering fluid and then adding fresh power steering fluid. Absolutely. The fluid is the cheapest component of your power-steering system.
A general statement claiming the fluid meets O.E. requirements DOES NOT guarantee good fluid quality. Currently there are no API (American Petroleum Institute) standards established for power steering fluid which is why there are so many questionable brands out there.