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hey guys i have an 01 with the 2.5 and the mtx. i change my oil every 5000 with mobil one, but what about all the other fluids? when do i change those?
maintaining your 2.5L
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4,973 Posts
hmmm I change my oil every 3,000 miles. As for the other stuff, I haven't really touched it, well except when I swapped in a new flywheel, I needed new coolant, transmission fluid, and power steering fluid. I use fuel-injector cleaner every now and then. I hear you should do a tranny flush at around every 30,000 (or is it 50,000?) miles or so, but I still haven't done one. Just make sure all the other fluids are kept at the MAX level.
Mike
Mike
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4,189 Posts
I run a bottle of techron every 3K...
The coolant is supposed to last like 100K, but honestly I'd change it whe it starts looking really funky. It's cheap to do, so there's no reason not to.
The MTX could use new fluid every year or so, it'll really help with shift smoothness.
The coolant is supposed to last like 100K, but honestly I'd change it whe it starts looking really funky. It's cheap to do, so there's no reason not to.
The MTX could use new fluid every year or so, it'll really help with shift smoothness.
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1,831 Posts
now Fett you know thats illegal
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1,790 Posts
Hahaha. Fett, you got OW3D!!!
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There is this really cool book called the owner's manual ... it can be found in your glove box ... it has a maintenance schedule in the back
G
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·I wouldn't recomment changing to the green antifreeze.....I've hear if you use the green stuff it reacts with the alum. block and heads and starts to corrode it from the inside......I wouldn't do it!!!!
I thought the deal was the dex-cool stuff had an additive that kept a lot of the internal seals properly maintained, and that the green stuff didnt MAKE them deteriorate but didnt stop them from doing so.
.... for the record, green antifreeze has been in use for 3VAR, and so have alluminum heads/blocks. only SOME of the domestic 97+ models use the GM Dex-Cool orange crap.
green antifreeze doesnt make aluminum corrode.
.... for the record, green antifreeze has been in use for 3VAR, and so have alluminum heads/blocks. only SOME of the domestic 97+ models use the GM Dex-Cool orange crap.
green antifreeze doesnt make aluminum corrode.
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yea I use the GM approved Dex Cool orange coolant for my Ford vehicle lol.
Mike
Mike
A guy at autozone once told me that for the cougar you cannot use the green stuff since you have the red stuff in already... He said they will chemically react with eachother and destroy your engine! I filed it as a load of crap, but I thought it was kinda funny and figured I'd share!
Stuff i'd do as regular maintenance:
Plugs/Wires every 25,000
Only Motorcraft 32PP(or PPM) double plat Plugs!
Motorcrafts cross reference to Autolite as APP734's. Autolite makes the motorcraft so theyre one in the same. www.Sparkplugs.com
Im also skeptical on the FR 9mm wires. Supposedly they dont mix well with certain types of plugs. I'd stick with the stockies.
Mobil 1/Motorcraft Filter every 3500-4000.
WalMart has 5quart bottles of mobil 1 for $23, and Motorcraft filters for $3, & i have a couple single quarts left over from past changes so i use those to top up to 5.5q.
Run a bottle of Chevron w/Techron fuel system cleaner at the oil change intervals. 4packs can be had at Sams club or Costco for like $10.
Inspect oil pan seal for leaks. My '99 weeps slightly and its getting messy under the motor.
the uprated baffled oil pan, new seal and hardware are available as a kit from www.batinc.net for under $100
Replace air filter (or Wash off in my case) once every year.
K&N Filtercharger cleaning kits are at Autozone for $10. Replacment stock filters are about as much.
Replace cabin air filter once every 4 years.
So far only found this at the ford dealer. I got the charcoal filled one for $28
Transmission fluid every other year
If MTX, get a quart of Mobil 1 ATF and goto ford for 'Friction Modifyer'. theyll know what you want, they sell it all the time. ATF as is wont grab the synchro's in the gearbox, so if you use ATF alone you'll grind every gear guarantee'd, if it even goes into gear. Pour half of the modifyer into the ATF and itll be smooth sailing. Either that or get the $120 dealership flush. If ATX, you HAVE to get the $120 dealership/jiffylube/expressway flush cuz its necessary. Theres like a couple hundred feet of caiplary lines that won't gravity drain and need to be flushed out with new fluid.
As per reccomendation above, a yearly/bi-yearly coolant flush is a good idea. Also take compressed air to the radiator and get all the bugs and decaying leavs out.
what else did i forget?
Plugs/Wires every 25,000
Only Motorcraft 32PP(or PPM) double plat Plugs!
Motorcrafts cross reference to Autolite as APP734's. Autolite makes the motorcraft so theyre one in the same. www.Sparkplugs.com
Im also skeptical on the FR 9mm wires. Supposedly they dont mix well with certain types of plugs. I'd stick with the stockies.
Mobil 1/Motorcraft Filter every 3500-4000.
WalMart has 5quart bottles of mobil 1 for $23, and Motorcraft filters for $3, & i have a couple single quarts left over from past changes so i use those to top up to 5.5q.
Run a bottle of Chevron w/Techron fuel system cleaner at the oil change intervals. 4packs can be had at Sams club or Costco for like $10.
Inspect oil pan seal for leaks. My '99 weeps slightly and its getting messy under the motor.
the uprated baffled oil pan, new seal and hardware are available as a kit from www.batinc.net for under $100
Replace air filter (or Wash off in my case) once every year.
K&N Filtercharger cleaning kits are at Autozone for $10. Replacment stock filters are about as much.
Replace cabin air filter once every 4 years.
So far only found this at the ford dealer. I got the charcoal filled one for $28
Transmission fluid every other year
If MTX, get a quart of Mobil 1 ATF and goto ford for 'Friction Modifyer'. theyll know what you want, they sell it all the time. ATF as is wont grab the synchro's in the gearbox, so if you use ATF alone you'll grind every gear guarantee'd, if it even goes into gear. Pour half of the modifyer into the ATF and itll be smooth sailing. Either that or get the $120 dealership flush. If ATX, you HAVE to get the $120 dealership/jiffylube/expressway flush cuz its necessary. Theres like a couple hundred feet of caiplary lines that won't gravity drain and need to be flushed out with new fluid.
As per reccomendation above, a yearly/bi-yearly coolant flush is a good idea. Also take compressed air to the radiator and get all the bugs and decaying leavs out.
what else did i forget?
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5,817 Posts
Then what about this....
The 2000 Contour and Mystique, which use the same exact components as the Cougar...not one single part of the cooling system is different between the cars....BOTH use green coolant.
Again...
The Cougar, Mystique, and Contour share every single component of the cooling system. Yet the Cougar comes with orange, and the Contour comes with green. Sorry, but you heard wrong.
Mixing the two is not recommended, however a good flush fixes that problem.
Flush the system out well, and switch to green....it's no problem at all. No "chemical reactions", no "corroding from the inside".
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2,112 Posts
Well there is a bunch of old school thinking...Originally posted by: Fett
But is a better coolant.
Running temps are the same, and orange coolant tends to clog radiators. I change my coolant every year, and am changing to green coolant next month.
The new OAT coolant is actually much better performing and is very gentle on the cooling system UNLIKE old conventional Phosphate & silicate coolant. No constant eroding by the solid particles circulating the system. No corrosive build causing the system to fail. The list goes on. Read up...
Also changing between the coolants is not a very good idea after miles have been racked up with one particular type. I do not understand why you would want to switch to a much inferior coolant and on top of that after you have been running the OAT coolant in your system for this long. Not smart on any account really.
I've run Dex-cool in multiple vehicles (including my SVT for 40k) for over 300k cumulative miles with excellent results and never a coolant system failure of any kind.
Please folks... STOP THE OUT-DATED THINKING.
If you are not going to learn the facts at least keep it to yourself to not perpetuate the misinformation even further.
Joe mechanic in the corner shop is normally outdated on technology by about 2-3 decades.
Heck he probably thinks PONG is the latest video game craze.
Hell for that matter how many still test the alternator by pulling the positive cable. FREAKIN' IGNORANT MORONS!!!
I won't even get into "My dad said this"
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2,112 Posts
...and that's why he'll never go out of business. You get good advice and CORRECT advice and you laugh at it.
GUESS WHAT. We'll be laughing next time you go back into AutoZone and are pricing cooling system parts.
Ignorance can be cured... Don't let it ruin your life... Learn...
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