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Maintenance questions

1726 Views 12 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  STIAJW, 
cheetah4570
My 2018 F-150 King Ranch is coming up on five years old and 70,000 miles. She's running better than new and puts a smile on my face every time I fire her up. I have been diligent on obvious maintenance requirements: oil changes, fuel filters, brake pads, etc. But I wonder if anyone has performed more advanced maintenance or done it themselves at this stage? Changing front and rear differential fluids, changing brake fluid, etc.? Welcome any thoughts, advice from more experienced owners.
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Dunrollin
It will be a while for me as I am at just 30 some thousand. I just did this on my 2013 5.0 and much of it is almost similar to the 2018 diesel. Here is what I did. I have one of these oil extractors:

Automotive parking light Tire Wheel Car Automotive tail & brake light


I use it for a lot of things except extracting engine oil, easier to just open the drain on those. This thing makes sucking out old brake fluid from each wheel very easy, suck oil out of the front diff in just minutes. The front differential is hard to service otherwise as the cover is difficult to remove. Rear differential, use it to lower the fluid level before popping off the back cover. Transfer case is easy to do either way. The extractor costs maybe $75.

I haven't done serpentine belts yet but they look simple.
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D
I have one of those as well. It comes in handy when it’s time to service the transmission. I suck out as much fluid as I can from where you perform the check. Then I crack open one side of the trans pan and slip in there and suck out the rest to cut way down on the mess.
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jmperlik
Dijit said:
I have one of those as well. It comes in handy when it’s time to service the transmission. I suck out as much fluid as I can from where you perform the check. Then I crack open one side of the trans pan and slip in there and suck out the rest to cut way down on the mess.
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That's probably a better solution than the transmission fluid "shower" I saw in Ford Tech Makuloco's Fluid service video that Doug posted in the DIY Transmission Service Video. I still can't believe this is the documented service procedure = Ford's engineers must not think much about their techs servicing vehicles. FordBossMan went same route you did...

I jumped-the-maintenance-schedule and replaced the factory plastic pan with a PPE Cast Aluminum Deep 10R80 pan with a proper drain plug at 40K to spare anyone taking future showers...
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navyR113
jmperlik said:
That's probably a better solution than the transmission fluid "shower" I saw in Ford Tech Makuloco's Fluid service video that Doug posted in the DIY Transmission Service Video. I still can't believe this is the documented service procedure = Ford's engineers must not think much about their techs servicing vehicles. FordBossMan went same route you did...

I jumped-the-maintenance-schedule and replaced the factory plastic pan with a PPE Cast Aluminum Deep 10R80 pan with a proper drain plug at 40K to spare anyone taking future showers...
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Best solution is the PPE transmission pans. And they have a secondary positive effect in that they lower the transmission fluid's operating temperature.

ppepower.com

2017-2022 FORD w/ 10R80 Transmission Heavy-Duty Cast Aluminum Transmission Pan

Heavy-Duty Cast Aluminum Transmission Pan - Ford 10R80 Transmission The 10R80 transmission from Ford is revolutionary. This 10-speed power manager can go from street to strip with a flick of a button on some vehicle applications. All this available Bronco
ppepower.com ppepower.com

ppepower.com

2017-2020 FORD w/ 10R80 Transmission Heavy-Duty Cast Aluminum Deep Transmission Pan

Heavy-Duty Cast Aluminum Deep Transmission Pan Ford F150 with 10R80
ppepower.com ppepower.com
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jmperlik said:
That's probably a better solution than the transmission fluid "shower" I saw in Ford Tech Makuloco's Fluid service video that Doug posted in the DIY Transmission Service Video. I still can't believe this is the documented service procedure = Ford's engineers must not think much about their techs servicing vehicles. FordBossMan went same route you did...

I jumped-the-maintenance-schedule and replaced the factory plastic pan with a PPE Cast Aluminum Deep 10R80 pan with a proper drain plug at 40K to spare anyone taking future showers...
Click to expand...
It is kind of ridiculous. And if that isn’t a royal pain in the first place, they remove the dipstick!!! I’ve got a lift with a nice epoxy floor and couldn’t stand the mess again. It works even better if you have the time to leave the pan attached after fluid removal so that you can wait for the drip, drip, drip.
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jmperlik
If you went thru the DIY hassle of making a mess, you have to remove the OEM plastic pan completely to change the filter. I figured once you have it off, why not replace it with something to prevent the hassle next time around?

Question: PPE pan expensive? Answer: Yes, but nicely manufactured with 1-1/4" magnetic drain plug with a fat O-Ring, plus the other positive things @navyR113 mentions. I waited until Black Friday/Holiday special to get best price. I figured it was worth the money spent, but that's just me...

I researched after-market long dipstick, but my Service Advisor talked me out of it, as Ford really wants to keep the DIYers out of these closed systems.

To answer the OP questions on frequencies, here's what I am going with on my 2018 Platinum PSD:
  • MotorCraft 5W-40 Full Synthetic oil + OEM filter every 5K miles as per Intelligent Oil Minder
    • I will never achieve the mythical 10K marketed by Ford with my driving patterns
    • Nor would I ever go past 5K on any diesel due the nature of the engine
  • MotorCraft OEM Fuel Filter Kit every 15K miles
  • Transmission Fluid Change every 40K miles
    • 10R80 shifts rough enough already = can't imagine it after 150K miles
  • MotorCraft OEM Air and Cabin Filters as per standard maintenance schedule
    • I changed my Air Filter ahead of schedule due to a CEL the ECM threw where new filter was remedy
  • Front/Rear Differentials as per standard maintenance schedule
    • I think my dealer did a Front Diff service at 30K as per standard maintenance schedule
Again these are what I am doing (where I tried to list reasons why if I deviate from normal schedle) and any owner choose to do whatever they want...
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jmperlik said:
To answer the OP questions on frequencies, here's what I am going with on my 2018 Platinum PSD:
  • MotorCraft 5W-40 Full Synthetic oil + OEM filter every 5K miles as per Intelligent Oil Minder
    • I will never achieve the mythical 10K marketed by Ford with my driving patterns
    • Nor would I ever go past 5K on any diesel due the nature of the engine
  • MotorCraft OEM Fuel Filter Kit every 15K miles
  • Transmission Fluid Change every 40K miles
    • 10R80 shifts rough enough already = can't imagine it after 150K miles
  • MotorCraft OEM Air and Cabin Filters as per standard maintenance schedule
    • I changed my Air Filter ahead of schedule due to a CEL the ECM threw where new filter was remedy
  • Front/Rear Differentials as per standard maintenance schedule
    • I think my dealer did a Front Diff service at 30K as per standard maintenance schedule
Click to expand...
I recommend a couple more:
  • Transfer case oil every 75,000 miles (factory service says 150,000 miles)
  • Brake fluid (DOT 4) every 3 years
  • Drain radiator and refill every 5 years. Some people are fans of flushing the cooling system and I wouldn't discourage it, but I have not had problems simply purging about 1/2 the volume and refilling to replenish the additives. I would flush if I had the orange coolant from the factory.
  • Timing belt and fuel pump belt at 150,000 miles. Change the accessory belt while you are at it.
  • Grease any Zerk fittings every 10,000 miles
I'm a bit more lax on the transmission service; I'm planning my first one at around 80,000 miles.
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cheetah4570
All good scoop, thanks!
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If you live in a humid environment, change brake fluid every 2 years.
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K
All great info in a concise place, thanks gents! Coming up on 30k miles on my ‘18 so this is very helpful.

Out of curiosity, do y’all use ramps? I’ve always used jack stands but wonder if a set of ramps would make some things go quicker.
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Dunrollin
I have ramps but I just slide under the truck for oil changes. Ramps or stands for bigger jobs
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Kingford said:
Out of curiosity, do y’all use ramps? I’ve always used jack stands but wonder if a set of ramps would make some things go quicker.
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I use ramps for pretty much all under-the-vehicle maintenance. It's easier to roll around with a creeper with one end of the truck on ramps.
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