Newbie Questions

[tuneznvibe]

hi all

just bought my 53 reg focus tdci lx with 87k (first time ford owner), when i checked all fluid levels the power steering fluid was about 3/4 of an inch over the max mark. i proceeded to drain using syringe and got it down to just under max level, however i noticed the actual fluid was kinda black with hint of red instead of the deep claret red colour. I'm tempted to have this flushed and new fluids to replace, just wondering if this was common on this model? ford tdci's? also what sort of price would i be looking the fluid changed? i've got full ford service history and wondered why they didn't check if power steering fluid level was correct.

sounds like n/side rear wheel bearing on way out, would it be worth changing both sides? how much on average would this be at dealers? also i'm assuming this is belt and not chain?

thanks in advance for any help....