Fluids on 1999 Taurus

[Vonne]

Its me again

I took my car in for its yearly inspection and was told I needed to have ALL the fluids flushed... Brake, transmission, power steering, and they also suggested a coolant flush. I have kept up with the fluids in this car religiously, and had just made sure they were filled not a week before taking it in for the inspection. At the time I checked them, they did not look bad to me. However, at the time of the inspection the tech said they were ALL nasty, that the tranny fluid looked like chocokate, and that the brake fluid looked like mud!! How could this be? And DO they actually "flush" brake fluid? The coolant had been flushed not 3 months ago because I have had a problem with the heater (which still doesnt work). Anyway.. I can not imagine for the life of me how these fluids got so bad so quickly.. nor can I understand how brake fluid can get so bad when its in a closed in area... They total cost would be close to $450 to have these things done. Are they trying to pull one over on me?

Thanks,

Yvonne

[way2old]

Look at the fluids yourself. The transmission fluid should be a bright red, the brake fluid should be clear, the power steering will be clear or red. You can put a small amount of each on a clean white cloth and see the colors. If these colors come up, then the possibility of them being bad are slim. Brake fluid can deteroriate due to the heating and cooling cycles. Power steering fluid can go bad due to wear in the rack and pinion and power steering pump wear. There should be a filter in the power steering system to catch most of the debris. The transmission fluid can become discolored due to the clutch lining material wearing or the metal parts wearing. If it has never been done, these are things that should be addressed on a preventive maintenance schedule. So it is your call if you want them done. Now on to the heating problem. Can you give any details on your problem? Maybe we can help.

[GPFred]

It depends on where you took it in. Those fast lube places will try to sell you things you don't need. If you oil is black, it is due for a change. Your tranny fluid should be a clearish red color. If its brown and smells burned, its time for a change. As far as brake fluid, I've never had to have it flushed in any car I have had, one with over 211K on it. If your collant was flushed 3 months ago, don't sweat it. This is purely a sales gimick. As for the heater, it could be a blocked heater core. See other threads under this type of car on how to correct this. Good Luck.

[road_rascal]

[quote=GPFred] If you oil is black, it is due for a change.QUOTE]

I've seen oil turn black in less than 500 miles and do its job well past 6,000 with a UOA. Just because it's black does not necessarily means it's ready to be changed out. Brown trans fluid, brake fluid, and coolant, yes!

[mwt]

Do you not have a book you keep your maintenance records in?

Brake Fluid does need to be flushed occasionally and you will notice a performance increase by having clean brake fluid in it. I am not saying it won't go 211K but you will notice a difference when stopping hard.

If you change the Transmission fluid make sure they use Mercon V

There are supposedly problems on the 98 and up if you don't

Mike