There are a couple things you should keep in mind if you are considering changing out your own power steering cooler. The first being the location of the cooler. Most coolers are very visible and easily accessible from the front of the vehicle. Verify you can see all of the brackets and hoses. If any of them look like they might be too difficult for you to access, you may consider having a professional do the job. The expense to replace your own power steering cooler will vary, but at minimum it will include the cost of the new cooler and a bottle of power steering fluid. If you need to buy the tools to perform the job, the cost may go up exponentially. To learn more details on the price range to replace a power steering cooler, check out some of our other cost-related articles.

The other consideration for having a professional replace your power steering cooler is the air purging process. When you change out a power steering component, you are naturally going to allow air to replace the power steering fluid in the system. While this may sound like no big deal (just fill up the reservoir with fluid and it should be fine), the truth is air in the power steering system can be tricky. In fact, most manufacturers have a specific air purging process, some of which require special tools to perform. It is a crucial step that if not performed correctly could cause further issues to other power steering components. It is best to check your owner's manual or online to see if there is a specific bleeding procedure required for your vehicle. 

We hope this gives you an idea if you should DIY when replacing your power steering cooler or if you should let a mechanic do the work. We also hope that if you have any other power steering cooler questions, you'll reach out to the technicians in our Ask the Experts forum.