TorchRedBeauty

I decided I'm going to change my own oil from now on, but have a question about other scheduled maintenance. For you guys that change your own oil, do you still bring the car in for each milestone (i.e. 15,000, 30,000, etc.)? The My Ford site says I should perform the following at 15,000 miles:

Inspect and lubricate steering linkage, ball joints, suspension and, if equipped, half shafts drive shaft and u-joints
Inspect brake pads/shoes/rotors/drums, brake lines and hoses, and parking brake system
Inspect engine cooling system and hoses
Inspect wheel ends for end play and noise
Perform multi-point inspection
Replace cabin air filter, if equipped
Rotate tires for optimal tire life

I'm just over 15,000 miles now, and I know I can do some of these things myself, but others I don't know. Should I just bring it in or can you guys point me in the right direction. The word "inspect" isn't very specific, so anything more specific would be helpful.

I'm thinking to save money I could at least change the cabin air filter myself and rotate the tires. Is the cabin air filter available at Wal-Mart or someplace similar?

Thanks in advance.

-TRB

TexaStang

I'm curious as well, as I don't want to bring in mine for "service" just for them to mess something up or void my warranty for mods.

antdog

The service department at my dealership could not careless about mods, unless it has something to do with a problem. They're more interested in what I'm going to next.

TexaStang

Good for you. The dealer I bought my car fromt tried to void my warranty because I painted my calipers. I'm not taking a chance with this one.

TorchRedBeauty

Aren't there any do-it-yourselfers out there that can help with this?

TIA,
TRB

hamstang

My dealer sells and installs most of the mods!

stangster

I do all of it myself - it really is no big deal. You can get at everything you need to access (except tire rotation) with the car's front end on a pair of ramps. I use Rhino's, and they give me plenty of clearance. Basically, most of it is just giving everything an eyeballing to make sure everything looks ok. There really aren't many specific "lube points" on this car. For tire rotation I use two floor jacks and jack stands and do one side at a time since most tire makers don't recommend switching from side to side, only front to back.

2k5GTC

My advise is to take it in and let them do the inspections. That way there will be a dealer paper trail (as well as the MyFord data base) showing your required maintenace was performed. Some of these inspections are silly, but you need to cover your rear when it comes to warranty stuff.

I always do my own oil changes and have Discount Tire balance and rotate my tires. I then put this info into my MyFord account. Just be sure to keep all receipts for the work you do. My 2 cents.

GRAYPNY

Same here but I will let them perform the 15000 & 30000 mile services when they are due. My warranty will probably expire (3 years) before I hit 30000.

Glenn

do your own inspections! Eyeball them as stated above. Most times your looking for a fluid leak or something that looks out of place. If you see some thing out of place or leaking contact the dealership.
Oil changes you can do your self. Save all reciepts for your records. Write down the miliage on your reciepts.
Get a few more hp and use all synthetic oil