high mile maintance advice...

[Grey Beard]

Hey guy's..........we have owned our 97 for 11-12 years and I always done the oil changes ect but now am wondering about other stuff.
The transmission has never been touched...no filters, no fluid flush..nothing, just kept full. Talked to my tranny guy and he said not to touch it as long as the fluid smells and looks OK, and it does.
Have never changed fuel pump or filter.
Have changed front hubs/bearings, brakes and CV shafts (which were fine, but found my noise was the rear joint on front drive shaft, so that is new also.
Will be changing to 4:56 gears soon so will check out rearend bearings at that time.
What am I missing that should be checked out with 186,000+miles?
I am probably starting to worry about the fuel pump the most.

This truck still runs strong, no problems at all, but just want to avoid some down the road.

Thanks for any advice........Grey Beard

 

[YountExplr]

Probably should check out your tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. Maybe change your power steering fluid and brake fluid if they are looking ucky. Also if you are concerned about your fuel pump, go have your fuel pressure checked. Other than that, Dont fix it if it aint broke. But also dont wait until it leaves you stranded.

Common things to start going bad at this point are your water pump, fuel pump, radiator, ball joints, etc.

You can also check your serpentine belt, replace your fuel filter, air filter, coolant, brakes, get your AC looked at, etc

Hope this helps

 

[v897xlt]

i have 285,000 miles on my X, just keep everything clean and keep changing the filter and regular maintenance... go ahead and change your fuel filter, pump should be fine... my ball joints are fine, just replaced shocks!! that will help alot with steering/control..

 

[Grey Beard]

thanks guy's
Ya know.....this was my wife's DD for years and I always checked the oil once a month whether it needed it or not and kept good tires on it for her but never really worried about it that much...been maintance free almost...
but since I've taken a real interest in it.....and with the miles....I've been a little more worrysom about it...................I know......my bad.
But you guys have givin' me some things to check and some ideas...so thanks

I gotta say though...I'm having a ball driving this thing around, it's the only one I've ever seen around these here parts thats been lifted and tired...does turn heads
Later-GB-out

 

[sean99]

I would do the transmission filter and flush and go synthetic throughout.

 

[94xlt4.0]

I would do the transmission filter and flush and go synthetic throughout.

i wouldnt recommend synthetic fluid anywhere that your not replacing a gasket. if you pull the tranny pan and do the filter then thats fine to go w/ syn but if you havent run synthetic engine oil dont start now, it will leak

 

[rhauf]

my recommendations are:

Run OEM spec oil (dont go throwing in thick ass oil to try to "fill worn stuff" or whatever).

Don't use any products that say "high mileage" or include black-magic type fixes (such as stop leak, etc)

and i'd probably change the trans fluid.

FWIW i started running synthetic in my '93 explorer when it hit 200k miles. it's got 220 on it now and no gaskets are leaking. while it does seem to be true that synthetic finds leaks better, i don't buy the idea that it creates leaks. and since it lubricates so well, it seems like a good option IMO (plus it helps me justify 10k mile oil changes)

 

[sean99]

I switched to fully synthetic on my 99 at 128K five years ago and my 01 at 100K and both haven't leaked at all. If you currently have a leak it would probably get worse but i dont see an issue if its not leaking to begin with.

 

[masospaghetti]

I keep hearing about how changing high-mile tranny fluid is a bad idea. Is the reasoning that, a fresh fluid charge would dislodge so much crap inside the tranny that it would create problems?

From experience, the only two automatics i've worked on were the TH125C out of Chevy Berettas - one 2.8 V6 and one 3.1 V6. The 2.8 had a hard shift between 1-2 that went away entirely with fresh fluid and filter. The 3.1 had a badly slipping tranny that also went away with fresh fluid and filter. Maybe I got lucky, but the difference on both was tremendous.

The 2.8 car had about 75,000 miles when I changed the fluid. The 3.1 car had 193,000 miles on it. Also, the myth that synthetics cause leaks is unfounded - this was a problem with early synthetic formulas that wasn't fully compatible with conventional oils. If you have a leak already, synthetic WILL leak faster because it flows more easily.

 

[Joe Dirt]

The thoughts on old fluid per my Ford dealership are as follows:

As the transmission runs, the bands will wear, and band material comes off in the fluid, and gets running through the system. At some point, in some high mileage transmissions, there will be enough band material floating in the fluid to provide "grip" for the bands, even though if clean fluid was in there, there wouldn't be enough band material left on the bands themselves to run normally without slipping. If you flush the trans, the old fluid comes out along with the floating band material, and when you refill- there isn't that extra material in the fluid. Thus, some transmissions will start to slip shortly after a change as the bands now don't have that extra help in grabbing.

That was the mechanic's synopsis from my dealer anyway...

 

[Grey Beard]

Thanks again for all the input and opinions.

Sounds like one of those "Damned if ya do, and Damned if ya don't" situations.

This 97 Mounty has been drivin 'nicely' all it's life, and now with this many miles and planning on going to some trails/rocks ect......well you understand my concern.
Heck, at my age, 57, I ain't gonna go out rammin' around and tearing things up. She will still be driven 'nicely' even on the trails.
I think for now I will leave the tranny fluid as is........but this could be subject to change.
Later..........GB-out

 

[Grey Beard]

I think I may have changed my mind....

.........well, been trying out the Mounty's climbing abilities out in my pasture and creek areas, and have been surprised at how easly it will craw up pretty steep banks. BUT......I think taking it on all these different angles that it has stirred up gunk in the pan, because now am having some shifting problems. Kinda acting like things are hanging up in the valve body.
I think I will be searching for that tranny flush article.
New synthetic oil and filter are in my plans.
WISH ME LUCK!!
GB-out

 

[Joe Dirt]

Good luck GB!

 

[Grey Beard]

Thanks JD.........but I've been readin all about the various tranny issues and theries ect and...
I'm starting to think maybe just drop pan, clean, inspect, new filter and fill back up with Mercon and see how she acts.
still gonna need some luck....me thinks
GB-out

 

[Grey Beard]

luck seems to be on my side.....

.......so far. Dropped pan....new filter...topped off with mercon and seems to be working great. Shifts nice and when it should and even got OD back.
Went out and crawled a couple creek banks and all is well......for now.
Later...........GB-out

 

[Turdle]

That is good news! I had my fingers crossed for you.

 

[Joe Dirt]

Nice... The drop-replace filter-top off is the least invasive. Glad its working so far!