Hello all, after owning my 79 f150 for 17 years it was time for a crew cab for the family and I had the opportunity to buy a 2012 f250 loaded lariat from a family member who bought the truck new. A bit of history on the truck maintenance...
delivery date May 7, 2012
the works oil change 5929
the works oil change 13172
the works oil change 20010
def heater sender replacement under warranty 21659
the works plus both fuel filters 25838
purchased truck 2018 with 30532
Self performed-oil change 5w40 synthetic, rotated tires, checked coolant with strips, tire rotate, seat filter change, new oil drain plug as old was stripped upon removal-This is why I do my own maintenance and repairs if possible. I called the dealer and they refused to accept responsibility.
As soon as I have the money I plan to do a egr dpf delete for longevity ran with stock tune and purchase the deluxe service manual.

The maintenance schedule suggests a coolant change at 6 years or 100k. Should I change coolant (6 years old) if my accustrip kits say everything is ok? I checked from the tanks and not the coolant drains against instructions in kit-how critical is this?

Any other things to check or watch out for?

 

 

Heated and cooled seats have a filter that says it needs replaced at 30k. I gues its for those times when Beano just won't work. Its motorcraft # fs-106. One under each seat. The original filters were a fiber type and the replacement is a perforated plastic piece. I assume the new filter allows more air flow and are easy to wipe off. Old ones were clean just wanted to follow the schedule and upgrade. Went looking for a cabin air filter and found out this body style doesn't have one.

 

Ha! And here I thought it was just a typo. I didn't realize it was a maintenance item.

 

I have the seat filter. mine are clean so have not bothered.

As far as checking the coolant from the degas bottle, it is fine. It is a closed system so it all circulates. I'd change it at the 6 year mark.

Purchase the airlift tool so you get all the air out.

 

Roger that. I will check out the air lift tool. Thanks

 

You have a good handle on things. Only thing you might consider is a transmission fluid flush. The manual states 60k but Mark (our resident transmission engineer) says 30k is even better. There is a thread and YouTube video around here somewhere that describes how to do a thorough DIY flush.

 

With regard to the transmission flush, I have read that since the 6r140 transmission has a thermostat, it makes a DIY fluid change difficult. I did a full fluid exchange on my prior truck and while I got it done it looked like someone had bled out all over my garage floor. I'm not looking forward to doing a transmission fluid service on my F-350. I like doing things myself but unless there is a way to bypass the thermostat it would be a pain. I'll have to look up that DIY video you mentioned.

Absent a full fluid exchange, what about just a spill and fill? Pull the plug and replace what came out.

 

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...-exchange.html

Here you go. It's for the 5r110 but the process is the same only difference, larger tubing diameter is needed for the 6r140.

 

Thanks for the link. That's a far cleaner method than I used on my old truck. Way faster too.

 

 

Dirthawg goes and checks manual. You are correct the 6 speed requires an oil and filter change at 150,000 and the 5 speed requires an oil and filter at 60,000. Who in their right mind would wait until 150k to service a transmission? And how does the 6 speed make twice the mileage as the 5 speed before service?

Personally, after many years of towing with an automatic transmission, oil and filter changes every 25-30k will do wonders for a transmission. I had great results towing with the E40DE with over 100k+ with 25k fluid changes, the torque converter crapped out before any of the clutch packs burned up, and that was a transmission know for overheating. Ford also says my 6.7l engine oil is good for 7500+ miles or better. My Used Oil Analysis doesn't agree with those numbers. If the fluid is not bright red/pink and doesn't smell like fresh fluid, in my opinion it should be flushed because transmissions are expensive to rebuild and fluid is cheap in comparison.

 

Current trans fluid turns brown after a few thousand miles. Color does not tell whether it is good with the modern fluids. Smell still works though.

 

That's not my experience at all. Currently at 22k and its still red not as bright as it was when new but not brown at all. Still smells good though.

We are so off-topic now let's save this for another thread.