Originally posted by Big Jim:


I do believe that Ford has no maintenance interval for changing the manual trans fluid in our cars. I still change it anyway because I want it to last a long time.



This is true. I have never found any Ford documentation on the subject, and I had a dealer service rep tell me it never needed changing.

Now, think about that. These are the same guys trying to sell me 3k interval motor oil service on a car with a factory-recommended 5k interval. These are not the guys trying to sell me the car. If they are turning down a service opportunity, I just don't get it.

I'm 39, and I think I've changed manual tranny fluid, oh, maybe twice before this (only once I can actually remember). Lots of people overservice their cars because their grandpa's 39 "deuce" needed clearances checked every 1500 miles, and by golly if it worked for him... Anyway, I followed the recommended intervals on my other cars and the trend was that the newer the car, the longer the interval.

On my old CRX, you were supposed to check valve clearances every 15k. I overlooked this service (accidentally) until 45k. Clearances were still tight, and that was on a car from 1989. Based on my experience (common sense?) it was not hard for me to believe that a newer car would have even longer service intervals.

Oh well. You're right sometimes, and you're wrong sometimes, and as I alluded to above, common sense is uncommon (and often conflicting).




Function before fashion. '96 Contour SE "Toss the Contour into a corner, and it's as easy to catch as a softball thrown by a preschooler." -Edmunds, 1998