Ok, I'm back...... The mrs had me out to the travel agent's office to book our vacation for 2011 (mediterrean cruise), we try to take a nice vacation once a year now that we are not working as hard and appreciate them more - afterwards she let me treat us to in n out burgers, my wallets a little lighter, but my tummy is full!
Swepco 715 power steering / hydraulic oil is a mineral oil, it is an amber colored fluid. Purple, or any other color in oil is a dye, sometimes dyed fluids (including atf's) are dyed to match a specific category, like it used to be that atf was always red, but that is no longer the case, as now they are also bright yellow, and I've even heard of some which are green. Craig, the lubium you mentioned is a swepco additive which works synergisticly with the other additives in products it is used in, and it is used in a lot of products from greases to hydraulic oils and everything in-between. Being synergistic, it "gets more performance" out of the other additives in the product.
GM used to recommend dexron atf in their power steering boxes, but they have been off of it (I think) for some time. Actually, my personal take on it is just like a lot of other lubricant applications which is to use the right product in the right place at the right time (the 3 r's of lubrication), so when I hear of people using engine oil in their transmissions, and the likes of that, I generally am against it. I've had several GM products call for dexron atf in the power steering and switched them over to 715 without any leaks, squeals, or any other problems. - but that was my choice. I might stir up a hornets nest on that one, but like I said, it was my choice to go against the oem recommendation.
I never could figure out why atf would be recommended in the power steering system in the first place, unless it was just to keep the different types of fluids to a minimum, but that is just a guess, and in retrospect I don't think GM would purposely do that just to make things any easier for a consumer!
