2000 miata, stuck on side of road, ps fluid is atf?

So,  emissions check and the dang power steering house has slipped down half an inch - puking fluid, but it's red - does it use atf for ps fluid? 

Hose reattached, no obvious cracks, feels pliable, kind of wtf...

I dont think its atf. At least my 2000 wasnt when i flushed the system at 80k. Assume original fluid. Used synthetic power steering fluid from the parts store. 

Can you just remove the belt and drive home without power steering? I had a 2000 but I forget how the belts are routed.

Just checked Rock Auto. Looks like one belt handles power steering and a/c, the other is water pump and alternator. You could always cut the ps/ac belt if it's the inside one.

I think he can. Pretty sure ac, crank, power steering is all on one belt, water pump and alternator on the other. 

My Haynes manual says that 99 and up uses M-III or Dexron II automatic transmission fluid.

And 97 and earlier just uses Dexron II.

Well, crap.

15 k on synthetic power steering fluid from the parts store.  Should i change back?

Sorry for the derail oldgray...

In reply to Dusterbd13 :

Most generic power steering fluid isn't all that different from a basic ATF.  It's unlikely switching from one to to the other would hurt anything in the system. 

Well, I shall lean heavily on rslifkin's comments, and Dusterbd13's anecdotal experience, as I wound up getting generic PS fluid and throwing it in there.

I didn't have anything with which to cut the belt, or I'd have done that.  I probably wouldn't mind "de-powering" the rack, these things are so light the difference in steering effort is negligible.

If there's a definitive on the PS/ATF mix, or if it should be flushed and run back with ATF, post up!  I'll probably replace that other line at some point, wouldn't hurt to just do it all at once.

What's the worry? I drove my WRX 3 hours home from a Rally and for another 3 weeks with no PS fluid. The rack hoses would puke any fluid I put in, so I just drove it without any until I could fix it.

In reply to OldGray320i :

It wouldn't hurt to flush the thing out when you change the other line.  Mostly just for the sake of knowing you've got one type of fluid in there.  Probably doesn't matter which one you pick.  

Personally, I swapped the Jeep's power steering to ATF a few years ago despite the manual saying not to do that.  No negative effects 40k miles later...  For benefits, the synth ATF makes the steering work a little better for those first few minutes on a cold morning and I have one less type of fluid to keep around for the thing.  

PS fluid is basically ATF without the color.   Just a way to sell more stuff in mho

A lot of "Power Steering Fluid" doesn't meet any specs and is basically a low grade hydraulic fluid, the good stuff (e.g. Valvoline) is a basic antiwear/antifoam hydraulic fluid. I mostly put ATF in everything, though I recall reading that Hondas take some special sauce and misbehave if you don't use it.

I had run "power steering fluid" in my '95 LS400 and was getting a lot of pump whine and some leakage. I noticed the label telling me what fluid to use and did a flush and refill with ATF (Dexron II I think) and it got quieter and stopped or majorly slowed the leaks. I don't think it did any damage to the pump as it lasted for years after that, but it certainly worked better with the right fluid.

I use ATF in all my cars that still have PS. zero issues here. 

Pretty much all Nissan/Datsun cars that come wiht PS use Dexron type ATF. As do most cars from the 90's up. It's all hydraulic fluid but I think the ATF is a bit thicker and rated for higher temps. Often people use regular PS fluid in the old datsuns and make a small leak worse.

The Porsche 924S/944 uses ATF instead of PS fluid.

If you use PS fluid, the system tends to leak like a sieve and you get to rebuild the entire system to stop the leaks.