[jason8225]

I'm a little past due for my 30k mile maintenance - the stealerships want about $350 for everything including Flush & Fill coolant with a new process that gets everything out of heater core and everything ($99.95), power flush the fuel injectors and clean the throttle body, new fuel filter, etc ($175.95), completely drain tranny fluid including torque converter new filter, etc. and replace with valvoline synthetic tranny fluid good for 60k miles ($179.99), then they recommend oil change and tire rotation/alignment, but that I already have taken care of.

Here is what I am thinking of doing, I go to Valvoline Instant Oil Change for all my oil changes and had a few other things done there in the past and was happy with them. So I am thinking of getting these services done by them instead of the stealership, what do you guys think, here is what Valvoline does:

Tranny service - http://www.vioc.com/serv_trans.asp - $80
Fuel System Service - http://www.vioc.com/serv_fuel_syn_entire.asp - $75
Cooling system - http://www.vioc.com/serv_css.asp - $40

Plus I get a 20% discount on these b/c of a discount card I have from work.

So is it a good idea to do all this?

 

[Mantioch]

I highly recommend AGAINST getting the tranny done at Valvoline. No offense to anyone, but I went to three different VIOC's and they all said the same thing from beneath the car "Hey, do you know how to unhook these lines?" I was told that there was something peculiar about GenIV tranny fluid lines. Anyway, they didn't know what they were doing with it, so I took it to the dealer. It was about the same price, anyway. By the way, I use VIOC during the winter and have found that for everything else they do a great job. And I'm not saying they are incompetent, but they obviously didn't know what they were doing with my tranny.

 

[jason8225]

Originally posted by Mantioch@Dec 9 2003, 11:29 AM
I highly recommend AGAINST getting the tranny done at Valvoline. No offense to anyone, but I went to three different VIOC's and they all said the same thing from beneath the car "Hey, do you know how to unhook these lines?" I was told that there was something peculiar about GenIV tranny fluid lines. Anyway, they didn't know what they were doing with it, so I took it to the dealer. It was about the same price, anyway. By the way, I use VIOC during the winter and have found that for everything else they do a great job. And I'm not saying they are incompetent, but they obviously didn't know what they were doing with my tranny.

I appreciate the reply... that's definitely the kind of thing I want to know about b/c the tranny is not something I want to put at any kind of risk - that is a part I am very cautious of...

Thanks.

 

[XLSuruaT]

A while ago, my dealer quoted me $100 for the trans flush. With that said, if you want you can probably go to the dealer for that service and else where for the others. I'm sure a regular flush of mercon V shouldn't be anywhere close to $180. If a dealer ever told me that atf will last 60k miles, I would ask for that in writing

You didn't mention what you plan on doing with the fuel filter. Its an easy replacement and you can be done in less than an hour.

 

[alex_perry]

i've seen two different type of flushed offered by garages. One, they just drop the pan, change the filter, put new fluid in. The other involves a bit more. They flush clean fluid through the tranny until it comes out as clean as it went in, then they change the filter, and refill. Obviously the second is going to cost more. See which one they offer. I would recommend the pressure flush, just because it's going to get into every part of the tranny, including the torque converter.

 

[jason8225]

Originally posted by XLSuruaT@Dec 9 2003, 12:06 PM
If a dealer ever told me that atf will last 60k miles, I would ask for that in writing

You didn't mention what you plan on doing with the fuel filter. Its an easy replacement and you can be done in less than an hour.

I most likely will get the tranny taken care of at the stealership, they said they use Valvoline synthetic tranny fluid which kind of surprised me, not sure if that will make much difference on the mileage rating...

If anybody has instructions on how to do the fuel filter I probably could do that myself... although I will tell you I am very inexperienced at car maintenance... I have done a lot and learned a lot since joining the club, but still am a far cry from "experienced" What type of fuel filter should I use?

Thanks.

 

[mobiuslogic]

Yeah, my stealership wanted about 400 for everything. Forget about the fuel system bs. You can change your fuel filter yourself, total piece of cake, no lifts required. Had you stayed on top of the fuel system though you wouldn't have to worry about it. I put STP fuel injector cleaner everytime I change the oil. Yeah, DON"T let Valvoline do your tranny. I'd never let an oil shop work on the Achilles heal of our Bulls (haha, good pun, go Mobius!) But have a shop do the coolant so you don't have to worry about disposal, even though it's a piece of cake.

I'd also suggest getting a shift kit installed at Aamco. Tranny flush and filter included.

-mobiuslogic

 

[jason8225]

Originally posted by Alex_Perry@Dec 9 2003, 12:14 PM
i've seen two different type of flushed offered by garages. One, they just drop the pan, change the filter, put new fluid in. The other involves a bit more. They flush clean fluid through the tranny until it comes out as clean as it went in, then they change the filter, and refill. Obviously the second is going to cost more. See which one they offer. I would recommend the pressure flush, just because it's going to get into every part of the tranny, including the torque converter.

The stealership did mention that it is some kind of good flushing process that gets the torque converter... so it must be the better service you mentioned

 

[jason8225]

Originally posted by mobiuslogic@Dec 9 2003, 12:21 PM
Yeah, my stealership wanted about 400 for everything.  Forget about the fuel system bs.  You can change your fuel filter yourself, total piece of cake, no lifts required.  Had you stayed on top of the fuel system though you wouldn't have to worry about it.  I put STP fuel injector cleaner everytime I change the oil.  Yeah, DON"T let Valvoline do your tranny.  I'd never let an oil shop work on the Achilles heal of our Bulls (haha, good pun, go Mobius!)  But have a shop do the coolant so you don't have to worry about disposal, even though it's a piece of cake.

I'd also suggest getting a shift kit installed at Aamco.  Tranny flush and filter included.

-mobiuslogic

Well, the stealership didn't look at the car yet, so they don't know the condition or anything, I use the Valvoline fuel system treatment ( http://www.vioc.com/serv_fuel_syn_complete.asp )at least every other oil change, and I get my oil changed every 3k miles religiously, so maybe I don't need the fuel system service - the valvoline stuff is probably about the same as the STP I would imagine...

I have definitely now decided that Valvoline will not be touching my tranny.

The coolant thing isn't a huge deal, so I would definitely think Valvoline can handle that, any particular kind of fluid I should use - anything better than another?

How much does that shift kit run?

oh, and nice pun

Thanks.

 

[sixfofalcon]

I normally recommend that you treat your tranny right by giving it synthetic ATF, if your tranny takes Mercon III. You have Mercon V, which is a synthetic blend anyway, so any Mercon V ATF should be fine.

The dealership either uses a power flush system (pump) or they do it the way Ford tells you to--by running the engine with the car in park to pump fluid through the entire trans, including the TC. That process has been quoted and discussed a hundred times on here. The best instructions I have read are on the V8SHO website here. That is basically a paraphrasing of the method recommended by Ford on the Ford Service CD.

Get an aux. tranny cooler if you don't have one already. $50 maintenance to prevent (or at least post-pone) $2500+ tranny replacement is well worth the investment.

I am willing to bet that the "new process" for the coolant flush and fill is a power flush, which is nothing new. They say it's new, b/c Ford doesn't specifically tell you to power flush, they just say to change the coolant at regular intervals. Use distilled water when you mix your coolant, especially if your tap water is hard.

The coolant and fuel services are really simple. Don't pay anyone to do them. Your total cost will be about $15 (coolant+distilled water, and a fuel filter) and it should only take an hour, even if you are doing a thorough flush of the coolant system. You shouldn't need any service for the injectors before 60K at the earliest. The TB can be cleaned with a $3 can of Gumout.

 

[mobiuslogic]

Well, Falcon is definitely right on track with this one. Just a couple little points to add. Aamco charges about 300 bucks for the shift kit, but you get the tranny flush at the same time. It'll firm up your shifts so they take less time to happen, which under WOT can chirp the tires at times. However with faster shifts, there is less heat build-up, so the tranny will last longer. And definitely get the tranny cooler. I don't remember who on here, but their transmission died too......at about 246K miles. That's about 120K more than you'll get with out the cooler:

Another Thread

And I seem to remember somewhere reading that if you drop the temp of the tranny, you can easily double it's life. And it's not a HUGE temp drop either. So there you go. 450 in preventative maintenance and you'll make you tranny last about twice as long. Check out the ripped calves on your Bull now. (OHHH, I'm on fire today!!)

-mobiuslogic

 

[XLSuruaT]

What kind of shift kit for $300. The post popular shift kit that I know of is made by transgo and your trans must be removed to install it. I have asked aamco about shift kits, his response was that they just drill the holes in the valve body and thats about it.

The trans thing is that for every 10 degrees drop, you double the life of the fluid. For every 20 degree drop, you double the life of the transmission. I think that is what I remember reading, but dont quote me.

 

[mikehawk]

Dude, the achillis heal thing isn't a pun, it's a metaphor.

$300 for a shift kit installed is a pretty good price, but I've heard some bad things about Aamco. I paid $400 to get mine installed.

 

[jason8225]

So what has everyone experienced with the Aamco shift kit? Who has them?

 

[sabledale]

Many places use off brand tranny fluids. I would recomend finding a shop that would put the ford tranny fluid in that your car came with. ask around to find someone that will use the factory stuff.

 

[FrankMcG]

Jason8225, if by any chance you live in the Northeast Philadelphia area and want a former Ford tech to do the services shoot me an email. I can get the filters at wholesale prices from Ford and I'm pretty cheap.

I don't do the flush, pan drop with new screen for the trans.

I agree with the others the Fuel Injection service is overkill if you still have the car around 90k and really think you'll keep it for another 100K do it then.

[email protected]

FM

 

[00tec-satx]

Jason8225, if by any chance you live in the Northeast Philadelphia area and want a former Ford tech to do the services shoot me an email. I can get the filters at wholesale prices from Ford and I'm pretty cheap.

I don't do the flush, pan drop with new screen for the trans.

I agree with the others the Fuel Injection service is overkill if you still have the car around 90k and really think you'll keep it for another 100K do it then.

[email protected]

FM [/b]

Not trying to attack you or anything, but I see you are rather new here. Please check the dates on threads like this one before reviving it. I don't think Jason even owns a Taurus anymore...

 

[FrankMcG]

LOL, it is late here on the east coast. Wonder how I've been doing on my other posts.

FM

 

[00tec-satx]

LOL, it is late here on the east coast. Wonder how I've been doing on my other posts.

FM [/b]

Doin' good so far, this is the only "outdated" one I've seen :thumb: