So a few words about maintenance:
Ford's recommended service intervals are bullshit. You shouldn't follow them if you intend to keep your truck for the long haul.
Take the spark plugs as an example. Ford says that the first gen Coyote only needs plugs every 100,000 unless you are using the truck in "severe" conditions. I pulled mine at 81,000 because the fuel mileage was far worse than it was supposed to be and there was a distinctly rich smell coming from the exhaust. It was a good call because the gap on the plugs was stupid huge and the plugs had begun to cake up with fuel and carbon. This truck saw mostly highway miles with a lightly loaded bed. It was by no means "severe" duty, but the plugs should have been replaced no later than 70,000. The 60,000 "severe" conditions recommendation is actually a perfectly sane recommendation for normal use of the truck to ensure best performance and prevent killing the ignition coils.
...and that's with the 5.0 Coyote. The Ecoboost is harder on plugs than the non-boosted engines so I most definitely wouldn't put those past 60K with even the lightest duty.
The same will go for the fluids. Ford's recommended intervals are silly.
For the rear differential and the transfer case, replace the fluids every 30,000. For the front differential that isn't engaged unless the truck is in 4x4 maybe every 60,000, but it doesn't cost that much more to have the front differential done when you are doing/having the rear differential done.
Brake fluid should be done every couple of years due to how easily it sucks in moisture from the atmosphere. Regular fluid changes are easier than replacing corroded brake components when they start to malfunction.
Coolant, stick to no more than 60,000 miles.
Transmission fluid I wouldn't push past 60,000 miles. I intend to do mine every 30,000 because transmissions these days are ever more dependent on ever more sensitive electronic solenoids and components that are less tolerant to contaminants and particles than in the past. The fluids are better than ever, but the transmissions are more sensitive than ever...so if your interest is the longest possible service out of the machine be proactive about that fluid change.
Oil is always controversial but with DI or boosted engines the gas dilution can be ridiculous. I helped a buddy change the oil in his 3.5 Ecoboost at 5,000 and the oil reeked of gasoline. He'd have probably been much better off changing at 3,000, even with good quality synthetic oil. I don't intend to push mine past 5,000 with the non-boosted engine. The timing chains on most of the Ford truck motors seem to be happiest in the long term with more frequent oil changes as it helps prevent the wear that leads to chain stretch.
Fords seem especially prone to experiencing "death wobble" when tie rod ends, ball joints, pitman arms, bushings, or other suspension components wear out...so those bear watching, too.
With new trucks costing 45 grand at a minimum for any spec someone would want to live with and the typical truck on lots I've seen being 50-70,000 dollars, and knowing how badly maintained a lot of used trucks are (spend money on maintenance? Nah, bruh, HUGE RIMS, LIFT KITS AND SUB WOOFERS!), I'm down to keep my truck running as long as possible. That won't happen if I follow Ford's "recommended" maintenance schedule designed to make TCO look lower while making it a virtual certainty that big dollar repairs will need to be done not long after the warranty is out.
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by TOTS
