Ford doesn't want to charge you that much, it's these economic times that's causing it.

I took my old car to my mechanic because it was running rough.
When I went to pick it up he said, "Well, I fiddled with the carborator and seemed to have it running fine. Then I got this bill from my daughter's orthodontist and I had to pull the engine."

 

A fuel system cleaner involves a direct feed of it. I had a misfire on my Grand Prix, did the tune-up (cause it needed it) and it still ran like crap. Clogged injector was causing my miss. A can of fuel injector cleaner right in the fuel line cleared the problem right up. A bottle in the tank is used in conjunction with the service under the hood.

 

 

That's why I do everything myself. The dealerships are soo expensive. All of that maint. work is so easy, why no to do it yourself?

 

I was calling them about an extended warranty issue. My trucks at 28k so I decided to see how much a 30k service would be. Since I'm going to have it there shortly to get the rotors turned under warranty I figured why not do it all at once. No, they won't be getting my $480. They can turn my rotors for free and probably flush the transmission but that will be it.

 

Hopefully they will just drain and replace the fluid without flushing anything!

 

I agree my manual says 100k on coolant and trans fluid. As far as injector cleaner just use a bottle of Techron every oil change which for me is 5k.

 

I watched a service advisor tell someone it was $650. After that the customer asked why. The service advisor responded that it was business.

 

Please ask your brother at the dealership if that is how they (Ford) do coolant flushes. I just paid $89.00 at my local radiator shop. They connected a flushing machine to the upper hose, drained the radiator (as you pointed out), and then they ran the engine while connected to the machine to DRAIN THE BLOCK. Just dropping the coolant mixture from the radiator IS NOT A FLUSH!!! You are only draining the radiator if you mearly remove the plastic plug from it.
Flushing the transmission is the same way. It requires a flushing device that removes the ENTIRE transmission fluid. Most folks think that just removing the automatic transmission pan and draining it with a filter change is all that is needed. Not true at all. The torque converter holds about 3 or 4 quarts, plus your transmission cooler (if equipped) and/or the transmission cooler (small) that's built into the radiator. It makes no sense to drain and fill only 4 quarts (about what the transmission pan holds) and delute it with remaining dirty fluid, or coolant if we are talking about just draining the radiator.

If the dealerships are doing just a pan drop (auto transmission) or radiator drain (coolant) and calling that a flush, then indeed it is a rip off. I doubt they are doing that though.

A true coolant flush is about $90.00 to $110.00. Shop araound; most shops offer specials about this time of year. A true transmission flush is around $100.00 to $120.00. These prices are what I have seen in the Dallas Texas area.
Again, make sure they are flushes, dot just a pan drop or radiator drain. Those are not worth doing if you want to get all of the old liquids out.

As to injector cleaning, if you use a good brand of gas such as Shell, Mobil, or Exxon, your injectors will remain clean. They provide cleaners in their fuel that keep the injectors clean, plus prevent the carbon buildup on the piston tops and inner valve seats.

The $480.00 they quoted you is a fair price, IF they are doing true flushes, and not just a pan drop or radiator drain.

You wouldn't drain your oil and leave the old oil filter installed would you?

 

also what is your time worth. i just went to a local dealer for an oil change and tire rotation for 40 bucks. last time i did it myself i had a little mess when pulling the oil filter, plus having to take it (dirty oil) somewhere to dispose of......again, how much time screwing around did i do??? 40 bucks is well worth the investment. just make sure you know what you are paying for and trust your dealer. my dealer will diagnose a problem and not charge me knowing if i need him i will be back. they are not all bad, but they do have to make a living....you just don't want them to retire on your dime only!! LOL

Jim

 

Hopefully it wouldn't matter, if you know the maint. schedule for these trucks, you will know they dont need flushes anyway at this mileage!

And the filter argument doesn't apply to the transmission.