02 Explorer 100k mile maintenance

hey all,

i'm approaching 100k miles on my 2002 Eddie Bauer. I bought it at the
end of 2006 and haven't really done any routine maintenance on it
(aside from oil changes and rotations) so I would like to make sure I
do enough maintenance to keep it running well for another 50k miles at
least.

I called up my local Ford dealership and they have a 100k maintenance
package; however the list of things they wanted to do was so long it
was going to run me $960. Everyone I have talked to agrees that sounds
too excessive so I was hoping you guys could help me out and let me
know what should be done as opposed to what they want to do.

The only thing that has been done recently is having my rear
differential rebuilt in November 2007 so I'm assuming they probably
already replaced the rear differential additive.

Thanks

Simple advice: forget the dealer's money-making list and read your owner's
manual. Sometimes there is a separate maintenance schedule booklet, not sure
about your model. It will list everything you need. If you don't have one,
it can be downloaded from the Ford website.
I would start with checking your brakes, tires and steering - your life is
worth a lot more than your Explorer.


"brazzle" > wrote in message
...
> hey all,
>
> i'm approaching 100k miles on my 2002 Eddie Bauer. I bought it at the
> end of 2006 and haven't really done any routine maintenance on it
>
> I called up my local Ford dealership and they have a 100k maintenance
> package; however the list of things they wanted to do was so long it
> was going to run me $960...
>

Happy Traveler wrote:
> Simple advice: forget the dealer's money-making list and read your owner's
> manual. Sometimes there is a separate maintenance schedule booklet, not sure
> about your model. It will list everything you need. If you don't have one,
> it can be downloaded from the Ford website.
> I would start with checking your brakes, tires and steering - your life is
> worth a lot more than your Explorer.
>
>
> "brazzle" > wrote in message
> ...
>> hey all,
>>
>> i'm approaching 100k miles on my 2002 Eddie Bauer. I bought it at the
>> end of 2006 and haven't really done any routine maintenance on it
>>
>> I called up my local Ford dealership and they have a 100k maintenance
>> package; however the list of things they wanted to do was so long it
>> was going to run me $960...
>
It's time to drop the transmission pan and replace the filter.
Surprisingly, not too expensive.

Bill

Unless you mean doing so as a part of replacing the entire transmission
fluid, there is not much point in dropping the pan and replacing the filter.
Less than one third of the fluid is in the pan - the rest is in the torque
converter. And if you ever looked at that filter, they rarely need
replacement. Unlike engine oil, there are no combustion products entering
the transmission fluid. Most of the particles are clutch lining material
that is captured by magnet in the pan. If there is enough junk in the pan to
clog the filter, the transmission is probably shot and needs rebuilding.
That's not to say that the filter is not worth replacing - if you are
already in there. Most dealers use a machine that taps into the cooling
lines for replacing the fluid and don't even bother with dropping the pan or
replacing the filter. I believe that years ago Ford stopped listing filter
replacement as required maintenance, so they can get away with it.

Incidentally, in their great wisdom (or should I say in an attempt to
generate income for their dealers) automakers stopped installing dipsticks
on many automatic transmissions sometime in the early 2000's. The original
poster's 02 may be in that category. When there is no dipstick, there is no
fill tube and no way to easily refill the transmission, not to even mention
knowing how much fluid is in there. One has to resort to the dealer's fancy
equipment for the task. Yikes


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Jeffrey" >
Newsgroups: rec.autos.makers.ford.explorer
Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 8:24 AM
Subject: 02 Explorer 100k mile maintenance
>
> It's time to drop the transmission pan and replace the filter.
> Surprisingly, not too expensive.
>