Power steering reservoir filter in 2008 Mazda3?

Question

I did a series of stupid things today and now I have a small piece of loose plastic in my power steering reservoir of my 2008 Mazda3. Could it be pulled into the power steering pump?

Here's what happened: I was topping up the reservoir and overfilled it a lot, so I used the top of a plastic spray bottle to extract the excess. There was a plastic "skirt" at the end of the spray tube. I stupidly pushed the tube past the narrow neck of the reservoir, and when I pulled the tube out, the skirt detached.

I'd say the skirt is about 3/8" in diameter and 1/8" thick.

Is there a filter at the bottom of the reservoir for 2008 Mazda3 that would prevent this from getting sucked into the pump?

Answer 1

Many types of power steering pump has some kind of mesh filter attached to it to filter the oil. But for making sure your power steering is good to go, loosen up your power steering hose and drain the oil check the plastic if it stuck in the hose or where did it go.