Regular maintenance is essential to the longevity, reliability and smooth running of your ride, and nothing can have such a detrimental effect on your cars reliability than neglecting to change its vital fluids at the recommended intervals. I think of the manufacturers service schedule as a minimum requirement and quite often the service intervals for some of the vital fluids should be halved to ensure many miles of carefree motoring. You should also take into account your driving style, the use to which your ride is put, and age of its powertrain when considering how often to change its fluids.

I am working on my '92 Town Car so the procedure may differ slightly from your particular car, but the basic principle is the same for just about every make and model on the road.

First we will start by assembling all the required fluids and filters.  Pictured below is a representation of what you might need. What do you think of my office decor?



I have assembled:

• A can of 5/30 fully synthetic motor oil
• An engine oil filter
• Some transmission fluid
• A transmission oil filter
• 1 10oz can of Lubegard
• Some gear oil
• Some anti-freeze
• 1 can of cooling system conditioner (not pictured)
• A can of brake fluid
• A bottle of screen wash fluid
• A bottle of injector cleaner
• Some de-ionized water (not pictured)
• Silicone rubber gasket compound (not pictured)
• My grease gun

You may also need some friction modifier for the rear axle if your ride is fitted with a traction-lok differential.

LIFTING YOUR VEHICLE

Before you can change any vital fluids you will need to raise your vehicle to gain access to the underside. When under a raised vehicle please observe the safety rules:

• Only lift your car on firm level ground
• Only jack on approved jacking points or frame
• Always engage the parking brake
• Always put the gear shift into park (or in 1st gear for stick shift)
• Chock the wheels remaining on the ground
• Always use jack stands
• Finally switch off the air suspension if equipped

Picture courtesy of Bigmac

The above picture shows Bigmac's Limo on jack stands. I would place the stands a little further forward on a regular Town Car's frame to get more of the engine weight over the jack stands, notice also he has left the hydraulic jack under the car as an added safety feature.

REAR AXLE OIL

To change the rear axle oil you will have to remove the axle cover, undo the ten retaining bolts starting at the bottom and working around. Just loosen the top three bolts and tap the cover loose if not already loose with a soft faced mallet, you can then control the oil drain rate into a suitable receptacle. When drained remove the cover completely, lifting it up and over the rear sway bar. There may be some goo in the bottom of the axle housing - just wipe it out with a lint free cloth. There is no gasket on the axle cover so thoroughly clean the old silicone rubber from the axle and cover, then apply a thin bead of silicone gasket compound to the cover or axle and reinstall, tightening the bolts in an alternating left/right pattern to 25 - 34 lb/ft of torque. Don't forget to replace the identifier tag or bracket for the ABS sensor wires.


The above picture is of my axle cover with the level/fill plug inset. Notice the pucker in the bottom of the cover - obviously it has been grounded on something and will need straightening before refitting. Fill the axle to 1/4" - 9/16" below the bottom of the fill hole with quality gear oil (I am using Castrol EP 80 gear oil, this will be about 3¾ pints). Add 4oz of friction modifier if traction-lok equipped first. Then tighten the level/fill plug to 15 - 30 lb/ft of torque. The recommended change interval for the axle oil is 100,000 miles or if the axle has been submerged in water. On a personal level I change my axle oil every 30,000 miles.

TRANSMISSION FLUID & FILTER

Prepare to make an unholy mess as for reasons only known to Ford there is no drain plug in the oil pan! Undo the 14 bolts securing the oil pan, start at one end and work up both sides finishing along the other end, as you are undoing the last few bolts at one end of the oil pan the other end will drop down hopefully depositing the oil in a controlled fashion into your waiting bucket. Fully remove the oil pan and you will see the filter, it is only a push fit, so pull it down to remove (an unexpected pint of oil will drain from the filter so have your bucket ready). Note: If this is the first time the transmission fluid has been changed you may find a small piece of plastic in the bottom of the oil pan - this piece of plastic was used during assembly to stop dirt entering the transmission through the dip stick tube and can be consigned to the bin. Next rotate the engine using a socket wrench on the front pulley/harmonic damper bolt until the torque converter drain plug lines up with the hole in the converter housing, undo the plug and catch the oil in your bucket.


The picture above shows an upshot of my transmission with the torque converter drain plug aligned with the hole in the housing. The inset top left shows my new transmission filter installed, the center left my long flexi-funnel positioned ready for the refill and lower left the magnet fitted to the clean oil pan ready to refit. Next fully clean the oil pan, magnet and gasket surfaces, refit the converter drain plug and install your new filter, check the old seal is not stuck in the pick up hole, lightly lubricate the seal of the new filter with some transmission fluid and push fully home. Put a thin smear of silicone gasket compound on the oil pan and stick the new gasket to the pan, then another light smear on the gasket and refit the oil pan, torque the bolts in an alternating sequence to 9 - 11 lb/ft. Finally, fill your transmission (I am using Texaco Texamatic 7045E) with 4 quarts of oil and your Lubegard and start the engine, run through all the gears and switch off, add another 4 quarts and do the same again, add another 2 quarts this time leave the engine running in park and check the oil level if necessary add some more oil to bring it to the cold level mark. You will need to re-check the level with the transmission oil hot and the engine running in park. You will need up to 12 quarts of oil in total. The recommended service interval for transmission fluid is 30,000 miles or more often with severe use, the consensus of opinion is to change it every 15,000 miles and always add Lubegard.

ENGINE OIL & FILTER

Changing the engine oil is one of the easiest jobs when servicing your car. Simply undo the drain plug and catch the oil in a bucket, then undo the filter (you may need a filter wrench for this).  If you haven't got one an old trick is to drift a large screwdriver into the filter and use this to undo the filter.


The picture above shows the oil filter, lower left is the oil fill cap and dipstick, and lower right is the oil drain plug.

Refit the drain plug with a new sealing washer and tighten to 8 - 12 lb/ft of torque, lightly oil the new filter seal and spin on the filter hand tight ¾ of a turn after the seal contacts the filter adapter. Now fill the engine with 5 quarts of oil - I used Havoline 5/30 energy fully synthetic. The recommended change interval for engine oil is 7500 miles, more often under severe use. I change my oil every 3,000 miles regardless of use.

BRAKE FLUID

Brake fluid is probably the most over looked fluid in your car but it deteriorates with age and has a service interval like all the rest. Brake fluid is hydroscopic: that means it absorbs water (from the atmosphere) and during a bout of furious braking such as on a prolonged downhill run the brakes can heat up enough to boil the water in the brake fluid. When this happens you can lose your brakes in a phenomenon known as brake fade (there are also a couple of other reasons for brake fade but that's not important here).

I have a vacuum bleeder, which makes life easier.  If you do not have a one-man bleeder you can use a length of rubber pipe fitted over the bleed nipple into an old coke bottle or something similar, then have an assistant slowly pump the brake pedal to bleed out the fluid.  However on an old braking system there is a risk of damaging the master cylinder seals using that method.

Below is a picture of my vacuum bleeder readied for action.


When changing the brake fluid start at the brake furthest from the master cylinder (usually right hand rear). Bleed all the fluid through until the master cylinder is empty, then fill the master cylinder and bleed through until all the air is removed - do not allow the master cylinder to run dry. Now do the same for the other rear brake. Move to the front brake furthest from the master cylinder and repeat the previous procedure and finally the other front brake. Tighten all bled screws to 5- 14 lb/ft of torque.

This method may not change the fluid in your ABS hydraulic control unit as specialist tools are sometimes needed but it will change 90% of the fluid.

The recommended changing interval for brake fluid is 2 years, you may need 2 or 3 quarts of fresh brake fluid to flush out the system and I used a DOT 4 fluid.

COOLANT

The coolant is usually almost as neglected as the brake fluid but is very important for a smooth running engine. To change the coolant undo the drain cock in the lower left corner of the radiator (if fitted) or remove the lower hose and catch the draining coolant, some engines have a block drain to undo as well but on the 4.6 liter engine they are behind the engine mounts and inaccessible.


The above picture shows the drain cock in the top left, the coolant degas/expansion bottle and the heater core inlet hose.

You may want to flush out the cooling system before refilling - the easiest way is to remove the heater hose in the back of the intake manifold and connect a garden hose to the spout and secondly connect to the heater hose itself to flush through the heater core.

When the system has finished draining do up the drain cock/refit the lower hose. Leave the heater hose disconnected for now as this allows the air to bleed from the engine as you refill with coolant. Now pour in your can of cooling system conditioner (optional), this helps lubricate the water pump, remove dissolved oxygen from the coolant, improves heat transfer and stops electrolysis. Mix up a 50/50 mixture of anti-freeze/water (preferably de-ionized, to help prevent furring of the radiator) and fill until coolant spills from the heater hose spout, refit the heater hose and continue filling until you reach the correct level. You are going to need about 7 quarts of anti-freeze for a 50/50 mixture; I used a green glycol based anti-freeze. You will need to run the engine until the thermostat opens, allow it to cool and re-check the level as quite often there is a little trapped air in the system.

The recommended service interval for coolant is 2 years.

MISCELLANEOUS

While I was in a working mood I also filled the windshield washer bottle adding some washer fluid, inflated the tires, lubricated the door hinges & locks with some aerosol grease, greased the steering, suspension & drive shaft, added a bottle of injector cleaner to the fuel tank and changed the power steering fluid.


The above picture shows my washer bottle and PAS (Power Assisted Steering) oil reservoir.

To change the PAS oil, first disconnect the two coil wires and PAS oil return pipe (the top one on the reservoir), plug the open return spout in the reservoir, and direct the return hose into a suitable container. Now with the wheels raised crank the engine while turning the steering and adding fresh PAS oil (you are going to need an assistant help you with this). After you have added about 3 quarts of oil the PAS system will have been flushed through and contain new oil. I used a type F transmission fluid to flush my PAS system.

Manufacturers seldom recommend a service interval for the PAS oil so I change mine every 30,000 miles during the major service.

NOTES & ENVIRONMENTAL FRIENDLINESS

Please check all torque figures, oil grades and service times for your particular vehicle as these vary by model year and design. Always dispose of your old fluids in an environmentally sound manner and not down the nearest storm drain.

FINISHED JOB

Now that you are finished clear up your tool kit, grab a cold one from the fridge, sit in your old rocker on the front porch and relax in the knowledge you now have the happiest Town Car on the block.


Happy motoring!


Dereck