need a opinion

[morbid81]

hey guys,

my 98 EX EB AWD 5.0. I am wanting to switch it back over to motorcraft oil and run 10-w30 in it. It has a few leaks and was hoping this would slow them down. So far I been running castrol high mileage 5-30 with bars rear main stop leak and I actually got a full 5 quarts at my oil change and then some because of the additive. But i've been reading about royal purple high mileage and was wondering what's your take on this? I did put a motorcraft oil filter on it this time and will from now on. Royal purple seems to get good reviews and if i do switch to it can I run 10-30? It has 155,500 miles on it. Second my shop wants to charge 160 to drop the pan and change fluid and filter on the tranny. If I do this myself how much fluid can I expect to need after removing the pan and filter? Im also gonna replace the gasket while im at it? Any info would be much appreciated.

 

[crunchie_frog]

No opinion on Royal Purple. Just my two cents, a good high mileage oil and regular changes keep my vehicles happy. If you want lots of opinions, data and discussions ad infinitum on motor oil, go to "Bob is the Oil Guy" forum.

As far as the trans fluid, I do not know for sure, but I would think about 4 qts is what you get out of a pan drop and filter swap. If it has not been serviced in a while, I would drain the entire system, which is about 13 qts. You can search on here for a procedure, but you basically run it out of the discharge of the trans fluid pump out of the cooler until it runs out and then drain the torque converter. The factory gasket is reusable, but most filters come with a gasket. You need to be careful with the gasket/ring that seals the filter in the transmission (they get stuck in sometimes) and you should get a filter that is not just a screen but has filter media. You can search for brands on this forum that have this. If they are doing the entire system (13 qts) $160 sounds reasonable if you are sure they know what they are doing (good luck). My guess however is the $160 is for 4 qts and filter, about a 15 minute job and that they have a good chance of not doing it correctly (use wrong fluid, do not install filter correctly, overtorque pan bolts, undertorque pan bolts, overfill fluid, underfill fluid, not clean the pan and magnet...). I would just do it myself.

 

[Flash]

It's not a hard job even for a lazy ******* like me.
And you get to see exactly what is or isn't stuck in the bottom of the pan and stuck in the filter.

Further to what crunchie_frog said about changing out the fluid if it's old; have a look at the fluid, is it clear red and bright? Does it smell burnt?

It's worth looking into installing a drain tap in the trans pan while it's out.
It will save a lot of future mess.

Damn it, it's worth changing out the whole lot while you're in there especially if the condition of the trans isn't fully know.
My future plans involve installing an inline trans filter using a spin on type filter.

The Barr's rear main seal usually works pretty well. If your leak has stopped feel free to use whatever oil you like.
Almost any modern oil is good when changed frequently.