Suggestion on fluid changes?

[tony97gt]

Hey guys, I bought my job2 '08 F250 HD back in April of 2012. It had about 55k miles on it when I got it. I got it from the original owner who bought the ESP and was nice enough to have it transferred over to me. The truck was never modified by him and when I pulled the CarFax on it I saw a few things. It had a "radiator repair" at 10k miles, fuel filter changed at 16k miles, and oil changes here and there. When I got the truck I changed the fuel filters, oil and filter, and added an H+S Tuner, DPF Delete, S+B CAI a few months later. Prior to adding the tuner I had an oil leak and the front crank seal was replaced by the dealer. Went back in about 2 months later for leaking at the same spot and this time dealer said it was the front pump cover (took it to a different dealer). According to the CarFax, both repairs included an oil/filter change. I'm about to hit 60k miles on the truck and I have not seen anything on CarFax about a tranny service. So I'm thinking at 60k miles I will change all the fluids I can: Oil/filter, power steering flush, transmission fluid/filter change, front and rear differential fluid changes, radiator fluid change. I will also be adding a Sinister Coolant Filter I have recently purchased.

My question is, I was considering upgrading the transmission pan to a Mag Hytec and the differential pans too. Maybe not all at once, I was going to start with the transmission pan first (for obvious reasons). I don't usually tow heavy with the truck and only drive it once or twice a week. Being that I'm still under the 5/100,000 warranty and the ESP do you guys suggest any specific fluids? I was going to run the Ford stuff and when I do the oil changes I always use the Motorcraft Oil and Filters.

Thinking of doing a Blackstone Oil Analysis too. I have a Fujimoto drain valve on the oil pan. What a great invention!

[04hdfatboy]

When changing the transmission fluid i always use mercon LV. The differential fluids i used the valvoline synthetic and i used mobil 1 ATF for the transfer case.

[Doss]

You can use Mercon SP for the trans too. I would base it more off of how expensive they are though... I'm pretty sure the newer LV is cheaper consistently now. I got it at the dealer for cheaper than $5.50 after telling them I'd just order it online if their price was too high.

Don't worry too much about the front diff unless you are really really wanting to do it [or use 4WD a lot]. It's supposed to be changed around 150k if I remember correctly.

I use Mobil synthetic for the rear in the proper weight with the additive already added. Let's not get into an argument over synthetic fluid for diffs.

Cat EC-1 ELC for the radiator after a flush of Restore/Restore + and distilled.

I used the Ford stuff for the transfer case (XL-12). It looked fine when I swapped it at 80k miles, but it only takes 2 quarts so no big issue on swapping it.

Doing a Blackstone on mine this time to see what the general health is. I'll let you know the results of 85,000 miles of Motorcraft oil and filters.

[tony97gt]

Ok guys, I'm going to do the front and rear diffs, transfer case, and transmission for now. I think I'm going to go with Mobil1 or Royal Purple, although Mobil1 is easier for me to find. For some reason the RP is pretty hard to locate locally. Please help me out with a part# for a Job2 '08 F250 transmission filter and capacity for Front/Rear Diffs, and Transfer case. I keep seeing varying information and I went today to try and find the right fluids and the guy at Napa had no clue and tried to google it. I kinda new to this stuff but the actual process seems pretty easy as I've watched it on YouTube. The diff's probably don't need to be changed, I don't use 4x4 that often and I don't mud my truck. But I feel like a little preventive maintenance now can save me some troubles later. Thanks

Front Diff Capacity-
Rear Diff Capacity-
Transfer Case-
Transmission-
Transmission Filter-

[Doss]

It's in your owner's manual.

I'm not trying to be rude, but I don't have my truck with me (been driving the Cobra since I blew the steering gear up in the truck).

Get some XL-12 at the dealership for the transfer case. I think it's 2 quarts. They should know though.

For the trans I bought 20 quarts of fluid with the idea that i'd just drain and fill it several times over a 10,000 mile interval. That should get most of it cleaned out.

If you don't have the external filter on your trans, it's FT-180.

Front diff interval is (I think) 150,000 miles. Rear is 100,000. I forget the capacity on the rear, but I remember buying 4 Mobil 1 bottles though.

[rt_hawk]

Just did my rear, 4 quarts had me covered, I usually overfill differentials by filling them on a incline. I used Mobil 1 and I picked up some friction modifier in case my truck wasn't happy with just the Mobil 1, so far no issues though....I picked up 4 quarts for the front too and 3 for the transfer case, use XL-12, it contains friction modifiers unliked straight mercon lv or sp. It really smoothed things out when I switch to 4x4...do not use XL-12 in a trans though!!

[tony97gt]

So 4 quarts of 75-140 for tear diff? I think I'll leave the front alone for now. I was asking about the tranny filter because when I went to napa the guy asked if my filter was smooth or ribbed and I had no clue. I wasn't in the truck to be able to access my manual, hence my request for help on the forum.

[K1LLsW1TchEd]

Use the motorcraft filter for your trans since you've been sticking with motorcraft oil and fuel filters anyway. If you drop the pan you won't be able to get rid of all of your trans oil so you may just want to go with the trans flush at the dealer.

[tony97gt]

I've heard the tranny flush isn't always good because it stirs up junk in there. But maybe my miles are low enough it won't matter? Kinda worried about the flush.

[K1LLsW1TchEd]

If your trans isn't and hasn't slipped then your fine. If you drive it hard and tow heavy all of the time I would be worried.