Service recommendations at 50K miles?

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

It won't be long before I hit 50,000 miles. on my 2022 4Door/hardtop/Badlands/Sasquatch/Lux. I read about other people's repair and maintenance issues -- and problems -- and I'm very grateful that I've been spared them. Still plenty of good rubber on the Goodyear Territories. I've done a fair bit of Utah, some of Nevada, and a good bit of Vermont and New Hampshire, even some of Quebec (don't recommend Quebec).

I've done oil and filter maintenance faithfully, but just that, and my 2.7 runs perfectly. I've read about people changing transmission and differential fluids. I plan on making this truck my last purchase (I'm 78) and plan on more serious offroading.

What do you people recommend for a complete 50K maintenance, besides the obvious oil and tire rotation to see me deep into six figures of longevity?
Thanks to everybody!

Sponsored

 

[contented]

Randy, sounds like we’re very similar on all counts. I’m at 55k and going in for routine service this week. I get the oil changed every 5k miles or so, keep all filters fresh, tires rotated, etc., All the usual stuff. Just follow owner’s manual intervals. Some will argue diff and transfer case should be changed sooner than 150k miles, probably not a bad idea. I changed mine as I got into deeper water once. It’s a different day than when we grew up and one needed to rebuild that 283 Chevy engine at 50k miles or less and Ziebart was a thing. Youngsters have no clue.

I assume you’re aware of the Bilstein recall coming up. I had three oems leaking and chose to replace them myself with Bilstein 6112’s as we’re going to Moab in August and didn’t want any unexpected issues.

The hardest thing about getting old is accepting it. Although I’m still in pretty good shape for my age and ride a bicycle 100 miles or more a month , we just aren’t as physically capable as we were twentyfive years ago, especially reaction times. I don’t go up on the roof, or up a ladder more than five steps anymore. It’s a fools errand to drive my BMW M car anywhere near it’s capabilities. Why I like the Bronco is wheeling happens at much slower speed. I can still parallel park it in one back 50% of the time and two backs the rest, still precisely center the Bronco betwen the lines in a parking space (I amazed so many can’t) and seem to have a knack for picking the correct line through an obstacle. Even when wheeling, I know my limits and don’t exceed them. My avatar pic is the 8 rated section of the loop at the back end of Top of the World in Moab. I leave Pritchett and Kane Creek, etc to others.

Sorry for being long winded. Keep on enjoying your bronco.

Take care.

 

[adam1991]

still precisely center the Bronco betwen the lines in a parking space (I amazed so many can’t)

I had to laugh. My wife (62) came from 26 years of minivans, most recently one that's a couple inches longer and an inch wider than the rest--and she complained it was "too big". So she switched to the Bronco. And I swear, it took her 4 or 5 months to be able to park between the lines in a space.

To this day she'll park and then open the door to look down to see where she is...

 

[contented]

I had to laugh. My wife (62) came from 26 years of minivans, most recently one that's a couple inches longer and an inch wider than the rest--and she complained it was "too big". So she switched to the Bronco. And I swear, it took her 4 or 5 months to be able to park between the lines in a space.

To this day she'll park and then open the door to look down to see where she is...

I must admit, the top down camera view is helpful.

 

[NC_Oak]

if you got 50K on the diff fluid you absolutely want to change, especially as you've done some wheeling. I've got 2200 miles on mine and I'm about to swap out the factory diff fluids (other reasons). Really no need to do plugs at 50K, unless you want to take a peak at them to see what they look like. Ford will check the transmission fluid but that doens't mean it needs to be replaced either.

I don't know enough about the coolant in these. Could always check the pH of the coolant. My old duramax (with dumbass dexcool) would go south and the coolant would eat the injector cup seals. I swapped coolant out more frequently as a result.

 

[Headsong]

@Ducati1098 is the one to ask.

 

[Ducati1098]

@Ducati1098 is the one to ask.

I think everyone will have differing opinions on suggested maintenance.
Some will change all the fluids early, some will go strictly by the owners manual.
Not all vehicles are the same nor are they all used the same.

But personally, as someone who works on these for a living, I would typically recommend changing the diffs, t-case, transmission fluid and spark plugs all around 60K miles (or earlier if you're into that)
Is it necessary? Maybe not. I'm sure in some situations or vehicles, all of that would be fine to 100K or more.
But either way, it's good preventative maintenance to avoid any future issues since after 60K most people are out of powertrain warranty (unless you purchased an ESP)
Coolant and brake fluid I would inspect, but those can typically wait until much later in most cases.

 

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

I think everyone will have differing opinions on suggested maintenance.
Some will change all the fluids early, some will go strictly by the owners manual.
Not all vehicles are the same nor are they all used the same.

But personally, as someone who works on these for a living, I would typically recommend changing the diffs, t-case, transmission fluid and spark plugs all around 60K miles (or earlier if you're into that)
Is it necessary? Maybe not. I'm sure in some situations or vehicles, all of that would be fine to 100K or more.
But either way, it's good preventative maintenance to avoid any future issues since after 60K most people are out of powertrain warranty (unless you purchased an ESP)
Coolant and brake fluid I would inspect, but those can typically wait until much later in most cases.

Thanks for jumping into the thread, O Learned One. And thanks to @Headsong for making the personal link.

You might have picked up from @contented this is a late-in-life indulgence,* and I hope this to be my last vehicle purchase, and to pass it on to a daughter, well equipped and in good shape. Interestingly, I just got a surprise reimbursement from the IRS of a few thousand . So I think I'll "err on the side of caution" and take up your recommendations, Ducati.

@contented, I'm more than contented with my situation in my life. Thanks to whatever combination of fortunate genes, reasonably healthy living, and God's gracious blessings, I'm in good health, have adequate finances, and pretty decent mental acuity so I can enjoy my Bronco over fairly challenging terrain. I've finished a novel, working on the sequels, and am polishing an Old Testament sword-and-sandal screenplay I'm going to start shopping around ("querying") this summer. I might start a Master of Fine Arts program in creative writing September.

Regarding your M2, I'm always amused at seeing a fellow geezer in a top-of-the-line Vette--no offence intended, Ducati!

*My first off-roading was 1965, a summer job in the Sonora Desert with a minerals exploration outfit, driving IH Scouts with 3 sticks.

 

[Smocaine]

Second (third? fifth?) on doing your gear oil front and rear. It doesn't take but 3 quarts, it's not absurdly expensive even if you have it done by a shop, and it buys serious peace of mind. Transfer case isn't a bad idea either - just a couple quarts ATF on that.

I highly recommend checking out CarbonSteel's massive info post about every oil in the Bronco. His maintenance schedules leans heavily towards the paranoid, but there's a ton of research and information in there.

If you're not up for the long-read, my personal recommendation is to fill both diffs with Amsoil Severe Gear 75W-140.

 

[VirginiaHeritage]

To this day she'll park and then open the door to look down to see where she is...

Dude, I find myself doing that all the time since I got the new Bronco. It’s always fine but I keep
checking anyway. Still walking around it looking for dings from other cars when I get back to it too

 

[Lotus Dave]

^ The awful side mirrors cause the same for me...

 

[contented]

Thanks for jumping into the thread, O Learned One. And thanks to @Headsong for making the personal link.

Regarding your M2, I'm always amused at seeing a fellow geezer in a top-of-the-line Vette--no offence intended, Ducati!

*My first off-roading was 1965, a summer job in the Sonora Desert with a minerals exploration outfit, driving IH Scouts with 3 sticks.

You made me smile. I live in a senior development w/ about half a dozen C6 thru C8 corvettes that drive to restaurants and never go above 60 mph. I’ve tried to get them interested in spirited twisty road group drives w/o luck. . Finally found two younger Canadian snowbirds w/ C8’s who seem interested.

I bought the 2020 BMW M2 Competition new five years ago. Was kind of afraid of it at first. Wifey bought me a One Day M School at BMW’s Performance Center across from the factory in South Carolina. We drove M2, M3, M4 and M5 Competitions. The M5 was a 617 hp monster w/ ceramic brakes. Just amazing. The day was actually a race car driving primer. Aside from the wet polished concrete skid pad, everything was full throttle and slowing by activating the abs. Coming out of an S turn, then full throttle at 130 mph down the back straight, another 90 degree turn under max braking and more around the circuit was a hoot. Instructors told us this was the only place one could drive someone else’s car in anger. After that day, I was no longer afraid of my M2, but had a healthy respect for it. Thing is w/ these high performance cars, unless you go to a track, there isn’t anyplace one can legally stretch their legs.

I smiled again when I saw you had a IH Scout. I too had a late 60’s early 70’s red/white 3 stick w/ warn style hubs.

Small world. Take care

 

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

You made me smile. I live in a senior development w/ about half a dozen C6 thru C8 corvettes that drive to restaurants and never go above 60 mph. I’ve tried to get them interested in spirited twisty road group drives w/o luck. .

I smiled again when I saw you had a IH Scout. I too had a late 60’s early 70’s red/white 3 stick w/ warn style hubs.

Small world. Take care

b
Brings to mind Biden's beloved 67 Stingray. I wonder if anybody would let him to actually drive it.

Those days in the Sonora are gone forever, and not just because I'm old (78). We drove over everything, just knocked down cacti (we had to drive straight azimuths). If we got stuck, we just rocked the Scouts, spun our wheels until somehow we lurched out of that rut, or whatever. Threw our trash out with wild abandon. Lots of abandoned junk: vehicles, campfires, construction refuse. And we drove wherever and however we wanted to. The landscape is much better cared for nowadays.

Now to get back to my screenplay. Give it another go-over and start shopping it around. It's an Old Testament sword-and-sandal treatment of the Ahab/Jezebel/Elijah narrative, if you know the Bible. Sort of modeled on "The Chosen." You know an agent?

Sponsored