I wouldn't consider myself a mechanical idiot but I'm no pro either. I'm coming up on 100,000 miles on my '07 Supercrew 4.6 and the dealer's charge for the service is astronomical. They recommend changing the differential fluid, coolant, fuel filter, spark plugs, and tranny fluid I think. I'm going to get a buddy to do the spark plugs for me as I've heard those are a pain but how much of the rest of it can I do myself?

 

The fuel filter should have already been done 3 times or so. Thakes about 15 minutes. The tranny fluid needs to all be changes and a machie needs to do that. You can save some money by going to a lube joint if you have one you can trust. You can change the coolant if you have the patience to drain it all. Otherwise, go to a lube joint for that as well, if you don't want to pay dealer prices. The dealer will flush the coolant and engine, so they do extra for the price difference. You can do the differential, just messy.

 

Yea I've already done the fuel filter twice but I've had someone do it both times so I threw that in the list to see how easy it would be to do.

 

Fuel filter is a piece of cake, coolant is easy as well. just dont buy the cheap stuff! Differentials arent to bad either. If you are fairly good with basic handtools you shouldnt have too much of a problem. Be a nice saturday afternoon project.

 

How big a deal is the PCV on the 100,000 service?

 

For the 456467th time, THIS is what FORD, not individual dealerships call for at the 100K mile mark:

100,000 Mile Service Schedule
Change Premium Gold engine coolant
Replace spark plugs
Perform multi-point inspection
Inspect accessory drive belt(s)
Change engine oil and replace oil filter (Up to 5 quarts of oil. Perform at specified mileage interval or every 6 months, whichever occurs first)
Rotate and inspect tires; check wheel end play and turning noise

That being said, a transmission fluid change and fuel filter replacement should be done every 30K miles. PCV is due at 120K, so unless you just want to change it early, leave it alone.

Every dealer will come up with something new to charge you for and post it as an "approved" schedule. I was lucky enough to buy my truck from a dealer who uses the one Ford says to.

 

for the trans flush, can you just do a drain and fill?

 

i hope you are lucky enough for FORD or YOUR DEALER to put more than 5 quarts of oil in your engine during oil changes!

 

No. No way to drain the torque converter. If you drop the pan, you only get 5 or 6 of the 15 or so quarts. It has to be done under pressure.

 

That's a standard quote for pricing reasons. That info is straight from the Ford website. Most people know that.

 

yeah, i'm pretty sure most her know their engine requires more than 5 quarts of oil.......well i hope you know now at least

 

oh, alright then. we have a machine at work that hooks into trans lines wherever a rubber hose connects to a steel line and transfers the old fluid out and new fluid in while the engine is running. i guess i'll use that when it's time.