97 4-door Explorer XLT oil changes

[jburbrink]

I am a firefighter and only drive 3 mi. to and 3 miles from my station 2 days/week. The other days I may or may not drive at all as I stay home with my kids and the Explorer is not the "family" car. The XLT has 117k miles with no major problems and is in VG condition. I can probably get another 100k the way I drive, too! Anyway, I recently had someone ask if I change the oil more frequently b/c of my short commute and there is not enough time for the oil to heat up etc. Any ideas? Are there any other maintenance issues I need to look at that aren't "dealer recommended"? Thanks so much.

 

[Clutchless1995]

You need to take it out on the highway for a good 30 minute run once a month to burn all the water out of the engine oil and exhaust system and get everything good and hot and lubricated. If you do that I would change the oil twice a year. More often if you don't. Use some Stabil in your gas tank as it sits in there so long the gasoline could get stale and turn varnish like. Just do the normal fluid flushes and maintenance. Which engine do you have? Which transmission? An automatic should be flush every 30 thousand miles or so. The transfer case fluid be changed every 30 thousand or so, probably the same for manual transmission fluid. Change brake fluid every 2 years as it absorbs water and corrodes the metal parts. Flush power steering fluid every 2 or 3 years. Coolant every few years. Check air filter, tires, etc. Jiffy Lube can do most of these services or a local shop.

 

[prerunner02]

with the short trips, you should follow your owners manual guidlines for "SEVERE SERVICE" maintenance schedule.