Anyone planning on doing 25k or 30k mile fluid flush?

[NMhunter]

I guess I'm lucky to be alive. I've gone 175,000 miles in my Jeep Liberty without changing the brake fluid. Of course, I live in the desert southwest, so humidity isn't too much of an issue.

I did have the transmission fluid changed once, and they installed the filter incorrectly, and ruined the transmission.

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[SgtT11B]

I plan on having the PTU, the transmission the rear diffy fluid changed at 30k miles. I plan on keeping this car for a long time. Upon the inspection of the fluid condition at these changes I will make adjustments. Every tech I talked to that works at Ford, and its a few of them, told me I would be crazy to let the fluids go until recommended service interval.

A buddy of mine has a Focus RS with the same rear diffy as we have in the BS BL, he changed the fluid out at 60k miles and it was a mess. The PTU was so dark and smelled like it was burned. Now I know he is hard on his car but he totally wishes he listened to me and switched them out earlier.

 

[Inlandgirl]

Is anyone planning on doing 25k or 30k mile fluid flush? Radiator, transmission, etc etc.?
My dealership has a 30k mile recommended maintenance and outside of oil change, tire rotation, air filter, cabin filter, the remainder is fluid flushes. They have it marked at $1,000 and curious what others thoughts on flushing fluids at that mileage is.
This is my first brand new vehicle so I’ve never had to make these decisions this early on.

I posted Previously about this exact thing. Was verbally quoted approx $500 but paid approx $1100 when picking it up, AND they kept it 2 days! Had to meet with service manager to argue over it all, in which they did refund $300 of it. I posted pics of the 4 pages of ”services“ preformed. Not worth it. Call around to other ford dealers, when I did, the average price for 30, 000 Check up was way less cost than my dealer charged me.grrrrrr

 

[MDTX27]

I went ahead and changed ptu fluid at 30k. Easy to do when I was under there doing a change. The oil pump on Amazon was 7 bux and the 75w-85 Motorcraft Hyphoid gear oil was like 30 bux. Expensive but cheaper than having the stealership doing it. Takes an extra 20-30 minutes and is super easy as a dump and refill. Takes less than a quart.

Do you mind going into further detail on how you changed the PTU fluid? I haven’t been able to find anything online relating specifically to the bronco sport. I plan on doing a 30k fluid change which is coming up.. thanks.

 

[mikldom]

Do you mind going into further detail on how you changed the PTU fluid? I haven’t been able to find anything online relating specifically to the bronco sport. I plan on doing a 30k fluid change which is coming up.. thanks.

Exact directions here. It is no different. Make sure you get the Motorcraft hyphoid gear oil, full synthetic. 75w-85. They have it on Amazon. I would not trust aftermarket here because of the additive package.

 

[Wolfypooo]

The owners manual specifically says if you tow, off-road, or have Long engine hours to change the transmission oil at 30,000 miles. I am going to watch my dealer do it and the PTU first and then I will do the next one.

 

[Wolfypooo]

 

[MDTX27]

Exact directions here. It is no different. Make sure you get the Motorcraft hyphoid gear oil, full synthetic. 75w-85. They have it on Amazon. I would not trust aftermarket here because of the additive package.

I was under my Badlands earlier today and could not find a fill or drain plug for the liquid cooled PTU. Anyone with a Badlands able to perform a fluid change on the PTU?

 

[mikldom]

sent it to you via a PM

 

[gatornek]

Changing the tranny fluid is early is purely a question of “Do you plan on keeping the car PAST 150k miles?”

Sure. The vast majority of trannies will EASILY make it to 150k miles. But then what? If you then try to change that fluid and filter,you’ll soon come to find out that the tranny has become dependent on the sludge in there to properly engage. So once some freshfluid comes in, it’s slippage city and a trip to rebuilt transmission alley.

Dont change it you say? Well then,that 150k data driven figure from Ford now looms large and I wonder how much Longer that tranny will last until failure and then you’re back at rebuilt tranny alley.

When gears engage, there will naturally be shavings in the fluid. It’s probably a good idea to get rid of them on somewhat of a routine. That would be every 30k for me.

If it’s a lease, or your positive you’ll be out before 100k, then no worries on any of this. It’s the main reason why I’ve been loathe to buy used cars for the last 20 years. Not everyone does a level of maintenance that keeps a 100k engine almost as sparkling as a new engine.

 

[MDTX27]

Hit 30K miles today and found time to change the PTU fluid. On the Badlands, you have to remove the PTU liquid cooler. There’s two bolts that connect the PTU cooler to the PTU. Once the bolts are removed, you can pull the PTU cooler out (have a drain pan ready, because the old PTU fluid will dump out). I clamped the two hoses that lead to the PTU cooler just in case, but I don’t think it’s necessary unless you remove the hoses. The fill plug is located on the passenger side of the PTU. It took about 3/4 quart of new fluid. ( Motorcraft SAE 75W-85 Premium Synthetic Hypoid Gear Lubricant).

The old fluid probably could have gone another 10-20k miles, as it was still liquid and not sludge. There were a ton of metallic shavings in the fluid though. Overall it took about 2 hours.
Hope this helps anyone with a Badlands, as most info online is for the air cooled PTU’s.

 

[Bucko]

My 2007 Ford F150 lists automatic transmission fluid as "lifetime".

Not really sure what they mean by that; is it when the transmission fails, the fluid has then reached lifetime?

Since I used to pull a camper with that truck, I always had a transmission flush performed at 45 to 50K mile intervals. Dropping a trans pan and changing its filter only nets you about 4 to 5 quarts of fresh trans fluid. The torque converter and valve body of the trans still holds an additional 5 to 7 quarts, so to me, that's like changing only 3 quarts of engine oil and leaving the rest in there.

Today's flush systems use low pressure, so no need to worry about a flush causing dislodgment of crud in a transmission (lots of myths out there about this). I should note that the truck has reached 182K miles, and the transmission is still in there, and doing fine. At the very least, consider adding additives to the auto transmission, as the fluids do break down over time. Lucus makes a good additive.

I do agree with the comments that Ford does rigorous testing, so I'd stick to their recommendations for normal driving.

On the BS, I don't tow, and have quite a bit of mileage left before I'd have to make a decision on changing certain fluids other than the motor oil.

 

[BravoAlpha]

As per the owners manual of my 2023 BS OBX, transmission fluid is recommended to be changed at 150,000 miles and the coolant's good for 200,000 miles or 10 years, whichever comes first. You're wasting money, and throwing away fluids that are not even close to 25% of their service life at 30,000 miles. And don't just change the filters "because it's time", change them if they're dirty/clogged. I go through 2-3 cabin filters a year per vehicle, but only 1 air filter every 20,000 km (16,000ish miles) which works out to about one every two years or so. The dealership makes their money from the service department, and the service advisors are encouraged to upsell maintenance packages. Don't fault them, they're just doing their jobs. But I would advise you to decline the fluid flushes, as it's not recommended at that mileage.

Preventive maintenance is a double-edged sword. Every time someone unscrews, uncaps, loosens, or releases a screw, reservoir, bolt, or latch there is a chance it doesn't get put back together correctly. Search on Google for the Waddington Effect for an interesting read.

Ford spends a great deal of time and money testing its vehicles. It torture tests wear and service items like fluids to determine how far they can be pushed. Imagine running your engine for the equivalent of 30K miles without changing the oil...in the desert...in the summer. The data Ford collects during these test is the basis for its recommended maintenance intervals. I like to base my decisions on data.

ya’ll speaking my language.

nearly a million miles on 7 vehicles of varied flavors of VW Ford Toyota I’ve owned.. (I’m not including the miles on company vehicles, short term toys or lease)

NEVER did I EVER
flush transmissions
service differentials
service the air conditioner

these intervals really scratch at people’s ocd.

Look at the color of the fluid, how is the unit behaving.

 

[Mark S.]

Look at the color of the fluid, how is the unit behaving.

Even the color of the fluid isn't really indicative of service life. Lubricating fluids do more than lubricate. The reason they get dark is because they are holding contaminants in suspension, which means the contaminants--typically dirt or water particulates that are much smaller than the clearance between parts--are encased in lubricant such that they cannot contact any parts. Generally speaking, the higher the contamination the darker the fluid. Eventually there will be enough contamination that the oil can hold no more. But you can't tell when you've gotten to that point by color alone. The only way to know is to have the fluid analyzed. Luckily for us, Ford did that for us by testing its cars, usually under conditions far, far worse than most consumer-use vehicles will ever see.

 

[BravoAlpha]

Even the color of the fluid isn't really indicative of service life. Lubricating fluids do more than lubricate. The reason they get dark is because they are holding contaminants in suspension, which means the contaminants--typically dirt or water particulates that are much smaller than the clearance between parts--are encased in lubricant such that they cannot contact any parts. Generally speaking, the higher the contamination the darker the fluid. Eventually there will be enough contamination that the oil can hold no more. But you can't tell when you've gotten to that point by color alone. The only way to know is to have the fluid analyzed. Luckily for us, Ford did that for us by testing its cars, usually under conditions far, far worse than most consumer-use vehicles will ever see

analyze away. might be fun. Color certainly does not tell the whole story. theres a 2nd half to my statement.

I will defer to you for your further analysis. You have more to say than me. BUT the whole direction I was going…was something you referenced - Waddington Effect. Don’t service something that doesn’t need serviced.

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