200,000 mile tune up advice needed

Dear mechanic, does this sound right for a 215,000mile tune up?
I drive 2000 ford ranger 2.5l standard transmission, 2WD
I received this truck from my old man uncle @110,000mi
and this is what I think i need done to my truck

1. and 2. at bottom

3. ive never flushed the coolant, gonna do that
4. ive never flushed my powersteering fluid, gonna do that
5. do I need to flush my brakeline fluid?
6. any other fluids I need to flush?
7. any other filters to change besides fuel filter and air filter?

8. I noticed one hose cracking, should I just have all hoses replaced?
9. serpentine & (I think) timing belt were replaced at @175,000mi
10. manual says I should have replaced camshaft belt @120,000mi
11. any other belts I should be replacing?

12. sparkplugs wires were changed @150,000mi
13. sparkplugs were changed again @195,000mi, is this a convient time to change them?
14. is this a convient time to just say **** it and replace the whole engine? Mine has been making a weird rattlecan noise when I slam the gas on the freeway, my truck just feels slow and unpowerful (I do get 22mpg city, 27hwy)
15. do I need to replace catylitic converter or muffler since that seems to be where ratttlecan noise is coming from

16. should I replace my 02 sensor? I have been getting on and off p0133 check engine code for a while which is due to the 02 sensor but I believe it could be due to leaky radiator
17. radiator has a very minor leak at the plastic top cap, is this a convenient time to replace it?
18. PCV valve, says it is to be repaced at 60,000 and 120,000mi, for 2.5l engines
---it is an emissions sensor and I have never replaced it, do you think it will help my fuel economy?
19. I already once replaced my MAF sensor but I keeps randomly feeding gas to the engine when my foot is off the pedal. Shall I buy a third one? From pick and pull or brand new?

20. I have never had my brakes replaced within these 100,000miles ive had the truck probably because im light on my pedals. I think ill get them replaced
21. ill have them check my tires for lumps and rotate my tires
22. fix my snapped spare tire holder cable
23. about 2.5 years ago a tire shop said my front joint bushings were failing and need to be replaced. Later on another mechanic said they were fine
24. maintenance manual also says that at 150,000miles I should:
a. inspect and lubricate ball joints
b. replace RWD axle lubricant
bbb. Replace transaxle grease
c. replace wheel bearings, grease seals, lubricate and adjust bearings
----about 6 years ago my mechanic said my wheel bearing was about ready to fail within a year. Should I get them all replaced?


1. I just went to the burningman desert and spent 3 days doing donuts and speeding through alkaline dust, I beat out my air filter when I left (about to buy a new one today) and 500miles and 2 weeks later I just hosed it down with water. I read I should spray the cars clearcoat and engine compartment with a vinegear/water solution but then read not to do that cuase it will leave behind an HCl residue which is even more harmful ???
but should I still spray down my rubber seals and electrical components ???
should I be worried about corrosion on all my nuts and bolts ???

2. I ruined and replaced my transmission about 75,000 miles ago. I recently read that if youve been on the same transmission oil that long then it will cause damage if you flush and replace the transmission oil. Should I consult the mechanic who installed the transmission?
I do drive very lightly compared to most others I see smashing on their pedals and gears, about 2/3 have been hwy miles, the other 1/3 have been city miles + hauling(overloaded)

is there anything else it looks like i missed? how much do you think a mechanic will charge for the work and parts? $500? $1,500? i have a certified mechanic i sometimes go to and has been recommended to me by others. my grease monkey neighbor who does front yard car work for half the price. he used to own a ford ranger also. i imagine i would want someone well trained and versed to be on the look out when mixing and matching this much stuff at one time, but on the other hand, it is all pretty basic stuff, isnt it??

A gas engine with 200K miles on it? Sell it while it still runs.

I just scraped my 2001 Ford Sport Trak due to frame rot @ 197,000 miles. The Sport Trak is close to the same drive train and frame as the Ranger. Inspect ALL your frame mounts and rear leaf spring mounts. If any of then are rotted through, any money you put in the engine is a waste. Take a good look just between the cab and box, its the first spot for frame rot to start. Spring mounts are a pain to fix on those trucks too. Don't put a dime in it if any of these spots are bad. But that is my 2 cents. Good luck.

Advice from a guy who drives one truck with 435,000 miles on it (gasoline engine, and it's the original) and another with 253K on it (cummins).

First...forget the brake fluid, any efforts you make to crack the bleeders will result in headaches almost surely. Fix the radiator, that's a given. Forget the plugs.

Change the following on the 2.3:

both oxygen sensors, the cat, the manifold gasket at the downpipe (depending on year it might not even have a gasket) and change the pcv, i would ignore anything that isn't creating problems because at this mileage your better of triaging the problems that come when they come. The only other thing I can suggest BEFORE changing the cat is doing a seafoam treatment, it does work, its about the only top end cleaner that works imho...and it'' break off the deposits on your valves and the deposits on the top compression ring at the same time, all good things. not much else to say...drive the wheels off man.

do change the oil in the transmission, assuming it's manual. At the same time, YES bleed the clutch. after all this...here's my advice if you live in the rust belt.

Buy commercial black frame paint and go to a "hot water" car wash. spray everything down as best you can get to underneath, then paint it all with that black paint the next day.

Just drive it.

Transmission friction plates have to be toast by now ... wheel bearings, differentials, timing belt, anything with rubber mounts, intake & exhaust valves, valve springs, piston rings ... Possibly push rods, camshaft, crankshaft and transmission valves as well.
In my experience Rangers have a very short life expectancy after 120K

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RLS0812

Transmission friction plates have to be toast by now ... wheel bearings, differentials, timing belt, anything with rubber mounts, intake & exhaust valves, valve springs, piston rings ... Possibly push rods, camshaft, crankshaft and transmission valves as well.
In my experience Rangers have a very short life expectancy after 120K

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is this correct?
a. wheel bearings, timing belt are easily changed
b. valve springs, piston rings, pushrods, camshaft, crankshaft and transmission valves are inside engine/transmission and not easily swapped
c. intake and exhaust valves and rubber mounts, are these easily inspected? are they easily replaced?

I'm replying by phone so excuse me if the post is weird...

Valve cover is on top of that mess of an engine, which should making inspecting/replacing any valve related item relatively easy. The cam shafts are also right there. Use a brass screwdriver when looking at the valves ....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bluemeate

is this correct?
a. wheel bearings, timing belt are easily changed
b. valve springs, piston rings, pushrods, camshaft, crankshaft and transmission valves are inside engine/transmission and not easily swapped
c. intake and exhaust valves and rubber mounts, are these easily inspected? are they easily replaced?

I'm replying by phone so excuse me if the post is weird...

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Good luck with that. Just did wheel bearings and a timing belt. Neither was "easy", but then again I'm not a mechanic. A "cheap" mechanic wanted 400.00 for the timing belt that cost me 20.00 and about 6 hours to put on (which is quite a bit longer than a mechanic). Wheel bearings were a bear also.

It looks like you are doing a lot of maintenance that just isn't needed. You may find that you put 1200.00 into a truck that throws a rod and the engine is toast.

Change all the fluids and hoses yourself at home (including transfluid). Get the timing belt changed (it can be done at home if you have some air tools).

Every vehicle I own has over 250,000 miles.

Changing the oil and fluids, that is the main thing to keep a modern car running. If you haven't, nothing you do now will fix the wear and damage now.

If you had a 4x4 things may be different (because they hold their value), but a 4x2 that old could easily turn into a money pit. You could put 1000.00 in for maintenance and find you need to rebuild the trany. Now you are in the truck 2k, then find the engine threw a rod and needs to be rebuild. Now you are in the truck 3k until the next problem.

Drive the truck till a problem manifests and address the problem.

A timing belt is different than the serpentine belt. The timing belt is inside the engine whereas the other is the one you see when you pop the hood of a vehicle. In case you are thinking one is the other, as I once thought.

The engine having no pickup and the gas getting dumped may very well be your distributor as you've all ready done plugs wires and MAF.
hoses yea replace the bad ones
change the fluids... brake fluid I wouldn't bother with
new filters are nice
jack up the front and back..if you can shake the tire a little you have hub and/or ball joint issues
brake job can't hurt doubt you'll get those bleeders open to drain them unless you still have the rubber caps on them
timing belt I do every 100k that varies person to person
serpentine should be fine unless it's very lose or shredded up
camshaft no
plugs wires no
any other sensor not throwing a code..no
leaking radiator... I would
muffler best thing to do is crawl under and look to see whats rattling, not guess on expensive parts
If it ain't broke don't fix it ;)

Had a ranger drove it to 285,000. Had bad o2 sensors but it just gives it rough idle i wouldnt worry about it. Never flushed anything can cause more harm then good. Only reason i scrapped it was because the brake line rusted out and i was to lazy to fix it. I feel the worst enemy on the ranger is rust.

so here is my skimmed down maintence list, how does it look?

flush coolant
replace radiator
flush power steering
check steering box for major leak
transmission oil change
engine oil change
replace air filter
replace old hoses
check timing belt for replacement

check balljoints for replacement
fix spare tire mount
rotate tires
check tires for lumps
check wheel bearings
check brake pads

replace or clean MAF sensor
Worth it to replace:
1. pcv valve?
2. 02 sensor?

I regularly go to a skatepark next to a super-tweaky methy scrapyard and the owner said he would do the maintenence for me - better yet, he would show me how to do it myself - so i imagine he would give me the frugal run on car maintence which i am totally into but im worried he will be filling my car with **** fluids and **** parts - he told me to go get all my replacement parts from pick-n-pull and "if the part looks shiny, grab it"

he also said for the majority of my concerns, "if its not cuasing any problems, dont mess with it"
im very hesistant to work with him, but also very curious

If you're getting a code for the O2 sensor, replace it. They aren't expensive for that truck, and you'll likely see an improvement in mpg's.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bluemeate

so here is my skimmed down maintence list, how does it look?

flush coolant
replace radiator
flush power steering
check steering box for major leak
transmission oil change
engine oil change
replace air filter
replace old hoses
check timing belt for replacement

check balljoints for replacement
fix spare tire mount
rotate tires
check tires for lumps
check wheel bearings
check brake pads

replace or clean MAF sensor
Worth it to replace:
1. pcv valve?
2. 02 sensor?

I regularly go to a skatepark next to a super-tweaky methy scrapyard and the owner said he would do the maintenence for me - better yet, he would show me how to do it myself - so i imagine he would give me the frugal run on car maintence which i am totally into but im worried he will be filling my car with **** fluids and **** parts - he told me to go get all my replacement parts from pick-n-pull and "if the part looks shiny, grab it"

he also said for the majority of my concerns, "if its not cuasing any problems, dont mess with it"
im very hesistant to work with him, but also very curious

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I think he gave you good advice. If it's not causing a problem leave it alone.

As far as your list:

flush coolant
replace radiator
Your kind of flushing the coolant when you pull the radiator. Not much coolant left.

flush power steering
check steering box for major leak
Would NEVER flush things like the power steering, trans, breaks, ect. Get a turkey baster, pull out the old fluid as best you can, insert clean fluid, call it a day (goes for break fluid and power steering).

transmission oil change
engine oil change
replace air filter
replace old hoses
Yes, yes, yes, yes

check timing belt for replacement
This would be a no to checking the timing belt. Either replace or leave alone. You have to pull a lot of the engine apart to "check the belt". By time you get there, you just replace, not inspect. About every 100k you need to replace.



check balljoints for replacement
check wheel bearings
If you have a problem with these you will know. Steering will be off, wheel shaking, noisy

fix spare tire mount
rotate tires
check tires for lumps
check brake pads
Ok

replace or clean MAF sensor
Maf sensors are usually expensive. You can check out some youtube vids on how to clean (pretty easy) or just check the codes. They usually throw a code when bad.

Worth it to replace:
1. pcv valve? No tools required, couple dollars, why not.
2. 02 sensor? Will throw a code when bad. I would not replace until it needed it.

He did give you interesting advice on the "pick n pull". Many times you can tell a part that has been in the car 6 months vs 6 years. I usually look for original parts. They are expensive to purchase new and the "made in china" parts just don't last.

Does this truck have sentimental value because you got it from family or are you dependent on it for your lifestyle? Second question, how much of this work can you do? Third question, will the money you invest in maintenance be better spent on another vehicle?

Personal opinion, oil changes and regular maintenance is advisable. Dealing with problems as they appear would be the next priority.

For perspective, I have a 1948 GMC and a 1975 Chevy that I will invest my last dime into because of sentimental value. I will pay professionals to keep these running. On the other hand I have trucks, Jeeps, loaders, trailers, and a skid steer that I only do regular maintenances on. The age on these vehicles range from 27 to 56 years minus the skid loader. If I cannot fix these, they are scrap.

In a nut shell, learn what you can to do the work yourself, keep the beast running, and start looking for a replacement.

Now on a personal note, I noticed you asked for advice and received some great insight. Yet you did not bother to thank those who provided their time or knowledge. I think you owe a thank you to those that responded to your situation. If you thank me for my insight, I will be offended. Good luck to you.