I bought my 1988 F450 rollback in January. It's a great, rust free, low mile truck. I get about 10.6 mpg, and use a quart of oil every 1000 miles or so. I drive it 3 or 4 days a week. No complaints so far, and I'd like to keep it that way.

I have no shop or owners manuals and would be very interested in hearing from anyone willing to share advice on maintenance intervals, best oil to use, ways to improve fuel mileage, and any tip to help me keep this thing running great FOREVER!

thanks in advance
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I use rotella 15w40 and take off the fuel filter and fill it full of diesel kleen run it for 30sec and let it sit overnight to clean everything up.

 

i run Napa 15-40, year around in mine, in ohio so i get both the cold and the hot, use some diesel kleen like 84 mentioned above, and also i usually run some reg powerservice ( in the white bottle) through it a few times a month. as for your milage how many miles is on the truck, you may be due for a fuel system service

 

I'm pretty strict on my maintenance schedule. i like to keep my truck running as efficiently as possible so here goes.

I run John Deere Plus 50 II oil. one of the best oils out there according to a recent oil study for our engines. several other oils were rated higher but also cost more. i pay 72 dollars with tax for a 5 gallon bucket. which comes up to 14.40 bucks a gallon with tax (pretty good price i think) and when its empty you get a good bucket for puttin stuff in...... the way i look at this oil is and iv'e said it a million times if its good enough for 300,000+ dollar tractors/combines then its good enough for my 3,000 dollar truck.
Oil and Lubricants : Plus-50 II 15W-40 Engine Oil

I run Motorcraft oil filters, WIX is the same thing but for some reason WIX cost more so i'll just stick with the Motorcraft branded one. Motorcraft FL784 - Oil Filter | O'Reilly Auto Parts

Change Oil and Filter every 5000 miles unless your doing what is known as severe duty (constant hard work) then shoot for every 3000

Antifreeze i run John Deere Cool Gard II its a ELC (extended life coolant) that comes pre charged with the SCA additive (tractors/combines also require the additive) the coolant should still be tested even though it is ELC john deere sells the test strips for about 4 dollars a pack and the additive for about 4 dollars a bottle (est. takes 1.5 bottles to treat 8 gallons) the additive level should be checked every other oil change just to be on the safe side in my opinion. the John Deere Cool Gard II antifreeze runs about 15 bucks a gallon for concentrate (1 bottle coolant makes 2 gallons when mixed with water 50/50)
https://jdparts.deere.com/partsmkt/d...CoolGardII.pdf

coolant should be changed when it can no longer protect the engine from freezing which can be tested with a 3 dollar tester from any auto parts store.

I run Valvoline Mercron 5 transmission fluid in my ZF5 same in the transfer case.

I Run Valvoline 80-90w limited slip in the front differential

I currently have Champion 80-90w limited slip in the rear (had a bearing go out a few days after changing it and thats all the local store had left i bought all the valvoline and then the bearing went)

Im going to be changing the differential and trans/ transfer case fluids once a year unless otherwise required.

 

also just some more information for ya.

link #1 in my signature is for the glow plugs for the 7.3L you may have been told this but i'll say it again. MOTORCRAFT GLOW PLUGS ONLY IN THIS ENGINE. USE OF ANY OTHER BRAND CAN CAUSE SWELLING IN THE HEADS. DAMAGE PHYSICALLY (ENGINE) AND EMOTIONALLY (YOU) MAY RESULT.

link #3 in my signature is for the replacement fuel filter/ water seporator. they stock setup has been known to leak from the bottom seal ( its a 3 piece design the top header, the filter element, and the bottom cap. the filter in my link is a 1 piece replacement to eleminate the leaking parts altogether. it has a drain for the water and the hookup for the water in fuel light. it spins on the header just like your normal filter does. all around a better design in my opinion and several others here feel the same way. im sure you will to if you go this route.

diesel kleen. do as the others say with that. take the filter off from the header dump the diesel back into the tank and fill the filter up completely with diesel kleen and dump the rest in the tank. run for 30 sec. and let sit over night, it'll clean all the gunk from the injectors and IP.

you can run ATF in the fuel system as a cleaner im sure some will tell you but keep in mind ATF is red. Farm Diesel is red. which you can get fined for. like a 5000 dollar plus fine. you can go through a process to prove its ATF and not farm diesel but its really not worth running atf when it cost about 5 bucks a bottle and diesel kleen is 6 on sale. just run diesel kleen and don't dump ATF in your tank. just less of a hassle.

 

make sure you pack the bearings in the front end and grease all the fittings and driveshafts. thats something else i do after winter and before winter. and brakes check the level of wear on your brake pads/ shoes. i think the 450's have 4 wheel disc but still good to check all the way around.

 

x2 on the Wix fuel filter, I replaced mine with this and it is SO much more convenient and durable...

 

haha at least one other convert speaks out lol

 

I am using a WIX all in one right now as well. The only complaint I have is that I didn't get a new O-ring for my water sensor with it. That and it's almost $40, which seems insane for a fuel filter.

 

its more expensive than the cheapo microgard filter that uses the 3 piece design and only 8 dollars more than the motorcraft 3 piece design and 10 dollars cheaper than the fram 3 piece design.

i dunno i wouldn't buy the cheapo filter for my truck even if the 3 piece worked wonderfully. which it doesn't. so the way im lookin at it is its only 8 bucks more than motorcraft and i don't have to worry about leaks.

 

I buy mine from Amazon for $28.63 and free shipping:

Amazon.com: Wix 33617 Spin-On Fuel and Water Separator Filter, Pack of 1: Automotive