Maintenance Questions

I was considering buying a new car, but I have refrained and decided to keep my 98 Ford Taurus SE for as long as possible, and I'm not very car-savvy so I was wondering what I should do to keep the car running. I'm at 150,000 miles now and this is what I plan on doing, is it good/bad or is there more should be doing?:

1. Oil change every 3,000 miles or 3 months (will reach 3,000 miles first 99.9999% of the time) or Synthetic oil every 5,000-7,000 miles (any advantage??)

2. Every time I get an oil change use a bottle of Gum-Out fuel system cleaner or something similiar (any real help or just a gimmick?)

3. Rotate/Balance Tires every ??? miles?

These are major things I have not done yet that I plan on doing, but not sure what the mileage interval between them is, and not sure when the last time they were doing so doing it for the sake of it unless its a bad idea.

3. Flush the transmission. (Any thing else I should do to it?)

4. Flush the radiator. (Any thing else??)


As you see thats a small list since I don't know much else about cars, like i said I want to keep this car running for as long as possible, hopefully through the next three years of college, please give suggestions on whether or not these things are good/bad ideas and anything else that I should do to engine/transmission/fuel system/suspension/and everything else to keep the car alive whether it be a routine maintenance, or just a once every 20,000 miles or more thing. Thanks a bunch!



PS: Also I'm looking to install a remote start with keyless entry and trunk release system, does anyone know if my car is able to get this?? I just need those three things, no alarm is needed I doubt anyone will want to steal a 98' Taurus =p.

Is this something I'd be able to install myself?? And finally do I just need the system or will I need additional parts, Im looking into this system: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Ford-Taurus-Tempo-Escort-gt-ALARM-REMOTE-ENGINE-START_W0QQitemZ140025329373QQihZ004QQcategoryZ3372 1QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

1. Stay with 3,000 mile change intervals on regular oil. Synthetic oil has really good cleaning power, but isn't good for high mileage engines because it loosens all of the gunk & sludge and can lead to oil consumption.

2. It won't really hurt to use it, but if you just use "top tier" standard gasoline you shouldn't ever have to use any cleaner. Check out toptiergas.com (http://www.toptiergas.com/) to see which brands are up to the standard.

3. As a general rule, rotate the tires every 7-10,000 miles

3 & 4 - Fluid changing/flushing schedules vary from car to car, I'd suggest checking the owners manual to see how often to change the fluids.

DO NOT. i repeat, DO NOT flush the tranny.
you can get a fluid change, but dont get a flush done.
when a transmission breaks in, little metal shards wear off and settle into areas where they just sit and dont cause any harm. when you do a flush, these little shards get all stirred up and find their way into places they shouldnt be like the clutches ect.

just picture a jar full of water with sand on the bottom. now pour water unto the jar and let it ovweflow. the sand gets all stirred up dosent it. this is not good if it is your transmission.

DO NOT. i repeat, DO NOT flush the tranny.
you can get a fluid change, but dont get a flush done.
when a transmission breaks in, little metal shards wear off and settle into areas where they just sit and dont cause any harm. when you do a flush, these little shards get all stirred up and find their way into places they shouldnt be like the clutches ect.

just picture a jar full of water with sand on the bottom. now pour water unto the jar and let it ovweflow. the sand gets all stirred up dosent it. this is not good if it is your transmission.
It's sufficient just to drop the transmission pan, clean it out, change the filter, reinstall it and fill with new fluid.

BTW if there is no magnetic disc stuck to the bottom of the pan, put one in!
All auto trans I have seen have one installed at the factory. It is very valuable at holding on th potentially harmful metallic debris. However, every mechanic I have known throws them away, IMO because they are too lazy to clean it up and reinstall.

Ok thanks so far for the answers. Where would I find this magnetic disk, on the bottom of the pan??

Also, I've heard of an engine flush, what exactly is this, and is it a bad idea on high-mileage vechicles?

And I should not use synthetic oil then correct?

Also concerning the transmission, what is the difference between flush and fluid change? :(

An engine flush is putting a bottle of "engine cleaner" (actually it's diesel fuel with a few more additives) into the crankcase, running the engine for 15 minutes and then changing the oil. Not good for high mileage cars for the same reason given for synthetic.

In a traditional fluid change the transmission pan is removed, and the fluid is allowed to drain out, but only about 2/3 of the fluid comes out by gravity alone. In a flush, a mechanical purge machine is hooked up to the transmission that forcefully pumps in fresh, new fluid, thus "flushing" out the old fluid.

The magnet should be in the bottom of the pan in most instances:

http://72.19.213.157/files/4L30TransPanInterior.jpg