I have a 1998 Maxima SE with 46,000 miles on it, and I need to add some power steering fluid to it. Last week I found a new and unopened bottle of steering fluid in my garage, but after opening it I saw that it was a different color than the one already in my car. In my car it is a reddish color (identical to transmission fluid) and the fluid in the bottle is crystal clear (like water) but not synthetic. So right now I am not sure if the fluids are compatible, and if I would risk damaging something to the system. I also am not sure if it is Dexron 3 like the manual says is should be, but after looking at another bottle I saw that the fluid was also crystal clear in it. My mechanic said that the system needs a flush soon, so adding fluid right now would be a temporary solution since I will get that done. If anyone knows if this is ok to do, please tell me. Thanks a lot

P.S.

The power steering fluid I though about adding is Pyroil with a Valvoline logo on the side

 

If the fkuid in your car is red it means it's still VERY new. Don't bother with PS fluid, just add some ATF. Since you have the ATF just add it in. I just changed my PS fluid by taking out all the old one and putting in some new ATF. After a week the fluid is already brown and smells burnt because of the HIGH pressure.