30,000 Maintenance

[9COOP5]

I had the works package done today.. I was told for the 30k maintenance, our '14 Explorer XLT required an alignment and the sliders?, on the calipers, needed regreased?? I had not heard of this before.. The tires were said to all have good tread and the inner brakes were at 9 mm and the outer brakes were at 7 mm.. The alignment was to cost $90.00 bucks and caliper repair was $50.. I was not sure if these services were necessary because the truck drives and rides good.. If necessary I can take back to the dealer but I wanted to ask the forum first..

 

[sheltonfilms]

I had the works package done today.. I was told for the 30k maintenance, our '14 Explorer XLT required an alignment and the sliders?, on the calipers, needed regreased?? I had not heard of this before.. The tires were said to all have good tread and the inner brakes were at 9 mm and the outer brakes were at 7 mm.. The alignment was to cost $90.00 bucks and caliper repair was $50.. I was not sure if these services were necessary because the truck drives and rides good.. If necessary I can take back to the dealer but I wanted to ask the forum first..

Unless something is broken or bent an alignment is not needed. Only time I ever had an alignment on any vehicle was if a ball joint, tie rod end, link arm, or any other suspension or steering component went bad and was replaced.

How did he come to this conclusion? Did he put it on an alignment rack? Did he show you the printout from the alignment machine?

As far as greasing the caliper slide pins. Yes this is a good thing and it can't hurt especially in Ohio when salty water/slush can get in the pins and cause corrosion causing the caliper to bind.

Some people wait until new pads are needed, in which any good mechanic will re-lube them when the pads are replaced.

So I would say no to alignment and yes to caliper lube.

 

[613GT500]

To add to this, an alignment would be required if the tires were wearing down unevenly and you are noticing the vehicle pulling to one direction.
Greasing the caliper sliding pins, shouldn't have been done on its own, but rather as part of a brake service.

 

[peterk9]

From my experience, it isn't unusual to require an alignment especially at 30k miles. My 2011 Ltd required one at 5500 miles and they provided the printout to prove it. Front and rear toe were out. Cost was $95. My 2006 Highlander required one within the 2nd year of ownership. Neither showed any adverse signs that indicated an alignment was required. With the number of posts regarding brake problems, it isn't a bad idea to have them cleaned and checked.

Peter

 

[tmg19103]

Alignment should not be needed unless you have hit some big potholes and the steering wheel is off center or you don't have regular tread wear. Otherwise I see no need for an alignment. Check your tires every 5k for for uneven wear. If you don't see it, I don't see a need for an alignment.

Ford has a known defect with its rear calipers rusting and not completely releasing the pad from the disc when your foot is taken off the brake. This causes reduced mpg and very fast wear on the rear pads, so that is not a bad idea to have done, but you should be fine with only doing the rear. Not a known prob for front calipers. Dirty or unlubricated caliper slide pins are the primary cause of sticking/dragging brake calipers, but that is not why the rear calipers are sticking/dragging on Fords with as little as 10k miles. Calipers rust, but I have never seen them rust as fast and have the problem the Ford rear ones do. I don't think the maker of the calipers (may be Ford, may not be) specked in the expected rust component that would still allow the calipers to move freely. I had rusted calipers on my Jimmy for 16 years and this was not a problem. Just had the caliper slide pins lubed when new pads were needed. Never seen this problem on any car I have owned.

Here is an explanation:

https://youtu.be/Nxe8zKCv5DM

 

[peterk9]

Alignment should not be needed unless you have hit some big potholes and the steering wheel is off center or you don't have regular tread wear. Otherwise I see no need for an alignment. Check your tires every 5k for for uneven wear. If you don't see it, I don't see a need for an alignment.

Uneven tire wear is a sign of tire damage, no matter how small. Once the tire is 'damaged' there is no way to correct it. Why wait until this occurs to have an alignment check done? My dealer does a free alignment check every time I go in for service. I'd rather carry out preventive maintenance than wait to see the results of not having it done. Also, with the number of complaints on different issues on new vehicles, I would not feel 100% certain that they all have the correct alignment from the factory. I never hit any pot holes nor was the steering off center but the alignment was off in less than 5500 miles. This was on the 2011 Explorer, not my current MKT.

Peter

 

[tmg19103]

Uneven tire wear is a sign of tire damage, no matter how small. Once the tire is 'damaged' there is no way to correct it. Why wait until this occurs to have an alignment check done? My dealer does a free alignment check every time I go in for service. I'd rather carry out preventive maintenance than wait to see the results of not having it done. Also, with the number of complaints on different issues on new vehicles, I would not feel 100% certain that they all have the correct alignment from the factory. I never hit any pot holes nor was the steering off center but the alignment was off in less than 5500 miles. This was on the 2011 Explorer, not my current MKT.

Peter

They get you in for the alignment check when you probably don't need one to make some quick bucks and to possibly say you need shocks or struts, ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, axles even if you don't.

To protect yourself, always ask to see proof of a worn-out part. Barring a major pothole incident or an accident, an alignment should be good for 50-100,000 miles, yet Ford is recommending at 30k and you had it done at 5k? Their printout proved it? Gotcha.

Your money. Your choice. If you check your tires every 5k you will catch uneven wear early enough that it will not be a major issue for your tire life if you then get an alignment. Needless to say, wheel drift left or right calls for an alignment. Do these two things and you will be fine, IMO.

 

[peterk9]

They get you in for the alignment check when you probably don't need one to make some quick bucks and to possibly say you need shocks or struts, ball joints, tie rods, wheel bearings, axles even if you don't.

To protect yourself, always ask to see proof of a worn-out part. Barring a major pothole incident or an accident, an alignment should be good for 50-100,000 miles, yet Ford is recommending at 30k and you had it done at 5k? Their printout proved it? Gotcha.

Your money. Your choice. If you check your tires every 5k you will catch uneven wear early enough that it will not be a major issue for your tire life if you then get an alignment. Needless to say, wheel drift left or right calls for an alignment. Do these two things and you will be fine, IMO.

Never had any issues with my dealer trying to 'sell' something that wasn't needed. They always provide a copy of the alignment check printout along with the invoice. If an alignment is required, they give you the before and after printout. The initial printout showed rear toe was out of spec. Subsequent, after alignment printout showed it within specs and they also did a fine adjustment to the front. NO "Gotcha" here. I think you may have had too many bad experiences with some shady dealers. They are out there mind you but they aren't every where. There are still plenty of good and honest ones around that have unfortunately been tarnished by the bad ones.

Peter

 

[silverfz]

I have 86k on my 11 and never had done anything major.
Rear brakes 70k
Front brake 86k
Both thr rear bearing -80k .extended warranty.
Alignment when I got tires .

Just tire rotation ,oil change every 5k. Towing a 3500 camper fully loaded with kids
With bikes on roof for a few thousand miles. I do not have the tow package so picked up a tundra as we could not take firewood and more bikes. .but its been a work horse.it still towing motorcycle trailer and smaller loads.

 

[ECinEI]

I had the works package done today.. I was told for the 30k maintenance, our '14 Explorer XLT required an alignment and the sliders?, on the calipers, needed regreased?? I had not heard of this before.. The tires were said to all have good tread and the inner brakes were at 9 mm and the outer brakes were at 7 mm.. The alignment was to cost $90.00 bucks and caliper repair was $50.. I was not sure if these services were necessary because the truck drives and rides good.. If necessary I can take back to the dealer but I wanted to ask the forum first..

Unless you hit a curb, pot hole or some other road hazard and as a consequence the vehicle's driving dynamics or tire wear is now different I seriously doubt you "required" an alignment. I also seriously doubt the factory maintenance schedule shows a scheduled alignment at 30,000 miles. Now the "made up" service schedule developed by the dealer, to maximize service department revenues, may show a scheduled alignment at 30,000 miles. I can't remember the last alignment I had. Check for odd tire wear at oil changes and try to avoid road hazards and you're probably good.

The brake thing, as has been mentioned, is probably not a bad idea.

 

[peterk9]

Unless you hit a curb, pot hole or some other road hazard and as a consequence the vehicle's driving dynamics or tire wear is now different I seriously doubt you "required" an alignment.

Even if the alignment machine said it did and produced the printout to prove it? That's not putting a lot of faith in the alignment system. As I said before, I think I'll go with the machine rather than wait to find uneven tire wear.

Peter

 

[aznkidlee]

I had the works package done today.. I was told for the 30k maintenance, our '14 Explorer XLT required an alignment and the sliders?, on the calipers, needed regreased?? I had not heard of this before.. The tires were said to all have good tread and the inner brakes were at 9 mm and the outer brakes were at 7 mm.. The alignment was to cost $90.00 bucks and caliper repair was $50.. I was not sure if these services were necessary because the truck drives and rides good.. If necessary I can take back to the dealer but I wanted to ask the forum first..

I have about 53K miles on my 2012 Explorer. It cost about $100 at my local Ford for an alignment. I'll get an annual check after our winter season and each time there were some changes but not drastic. But this all depends on your area.

 

[Napalm]

I'm on the fence about how they thought they knew you needed to have your caliper pins regreased without taking the calipers off? which they shouldn't have done to check your pads nor for any reason other than you saying - hey the braking action isn't great or it pulls one side?


Not saying it shouldn't be done but the grease in there should last the time of the pads - unless there happens to be a TSB or something from Ford on the subject, and I don't know.

that's fishy to me - personally. If common up north then so be it.

Alignment - not worried over other than they should have sold you lifetime alignment for slightly more - or at least offered.

shops around here - tire shops that is - offer lifetime alignment on a car for around 145. so any time you come back - alignment for free. 2 trips later worth every penny.

to the point where every tire rotation my shop checks the alignment anyway - if questionable - they rig it for me. Now I live in a place with absolute shat roads. Memphis will even put steel plate over a hole so they can wait longer to patch the road. (horror stories of bolts in tires and bent rims - I've got a few)

anywho - really good practice since a skewed alignment will eat up your 200+ dollar tires in a hurry. so I'd look for a shop in town that does lifetime, that you trust or know people that use that shop. and go to them from then on.