yep, im restoring a Ford F-100 been sitting for about 5 years and th
first thing i was planing on doing was changing out the fluids. So was wondering if i needed to change out EVERY fluid? would th transmition fluid be ok? break fluid? power stearing fluid?
And also another thing there has been a little bit of gas in it for
years, is my gas tank gonna be rusted out
thx
I would do them all, and check for leaking seals, especially around the brakes.
No way to tell this from the internet. I would drain the tank and lines. Inspect the drained fuel for evidence of rusting. Replace the fuel filter, fill with gas and give it a try.
I would change everything out, absolutely. But then, I tend to change everything out every five years or so anyway.
Maybe, but I'd worry more about the fuel pump than the tank. Get as much as possible of it out, refill the tank to the top and add some strong detergent to get the gunk into solution. I like the Lucas Fuel Treatment but Techron seems to work fine too.
Don't forget to change all the filters and the belts. I'd inspect all the hoses very carefully unless you're going to just swap those out en masse too.
--scott
I would change all fuel hoses on principle. It is possible that some of them are still original, and some older rubber formulations don't play nice with some modern oxygenated fuels. I know a kid that lost an old Studebaker this way - he'd actually replaced the fuel hoses but bought his stock from a parts store that had an old roll. One failed on the road. Car go poof. My call - replace the hoses, and look for date codes within the last few years on your new hose.
To the original question, yes, definitely replace all the fluids. Modern fluids, *with the exception of oil* are significantly better than the old ones with few downsides. I just bought an older pickup truck earlier this year and just went through this same regimen. I think I used Redline Heavy Shockproof in the rear end, had the trans. flushed at the shop down the street (he used some synthetic fluid, not sure which one) and I think I used Prestone "synthetic" brake fluid from my FLAPS (the specs are actually pretty decent for a general consumer-grade product.) I did not change the P/S fluid but probably ought to at some point.
You do need to be careful selecting an oil for an older engine with a flat-tappet cam. Used to be that the "fleet" oils (Shell Rotella, Chevron Delo 400, etc.) were the ticket for those applications, but now even those have reduced ZDDP levels but still are probably the best you're likely to find at your FLAPS.
nate
And I would crank the engine over for several seconds with spark plugs removed to get the oil moving to distant points.
I'd be inclined to run it up before changing the coolant and radiator and heater hoses so as to dislodge any rust. This as part of a general program of changing all the underhood and undercar hoses and fluids. Watch those brakes like a hawk afterwards -- actually, consider rebuilding the rubber hoses and wheel cylinders on general principles. They have a hard life down there.
You might want to drop the pan and change the transmission screen and gasket too, if it's an automatic (sounds that way from the description).
As for rust in the fuel tank, you might be able to get away with changing the fuel filter repeatedly*. You didn't say what year or engine, but I'm imagining the "jelly jar" arrangement where a metal filter housing screwed into the bottom of a mechanical fuel pump. Very handy to take this approach with those, especially if you just happen to be changing the oil filter (access is easier with the oil filter off), as they have a lot of capacity and the larger particles drift to the bottom where they're easy to admire and swab out.
My old T-bird with a 390 horked up a fair bit of rust and fines at first, but after doing this every few months on a boring afternoon for a year or so, I wasn't finding much anymore. Funneled the gasoline into my lawnmower through a coffee filter, screwed the thing back in with a new filter cartridge, lather-rinse-repeat.
Watch very carefully for gas leaks (incl. on and near the carb itself) during those first few run-ups, and, well, for leaks of everything else too.
Definitely change out the differential fluid. The cheap pumps that are powered by a drill are great for that sort of thing. The oil is too heavy for a hand vacuum pump like you might use to bleed the brakes, and of course it smells like Hell in a pretty literal sense.
--J
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