[geoff]

When I picked up my escort it had 70K miles on it (1995), I bought it from a friend that was the original owner. He did all the required work on the car at the time/mileage it was called for, so I knew the car was is good mechanical shape, but these are the same things I have done with all my cars, and what I plan to continue to do with the Escort as long as I own it.

I gave the car a full tune-up about a week after getting it, mostly for piece-of-mind. This included pulling the valve cover and oil pan and cleaning the engine out and inspecting it, everything looked very good so it was put back together with new gaskets and all new synthetic fluids, along with all new filters, ect. I also cleaned the injectors and intake manifold, changed the trans-filter and fluid, coolant, sparkplugs, plug wires, a couple dry-rotted vac. lines, ect, ect, ect.

Since then I have been using all Redline fluids in the engine (5w20 in the summer, 0w20 in the winter) I don’t do much driving with the car, so the oil/filter gets changed every 6 months and that’s when I switch weights (I also change the oil filter at the half-way point till the next oil change, and top off the oil as needed).

The trans has Redline D4-ATF, I will change the transmission fluid every other year (and the trans filter every other fluid change), or 25k miles, along with the coolant. To change the trans-fluid, I have a trusted shop flush it out to make sure all the old fluid in the cooler, lines, and torque converter is changed. I use a 20/80 anti-freeze/water mix, with 1 bottle of Redline Water Wetter.

All the wheel bearings will be getting Redline CV lube on them and that get re-greased anytime I work on the brakes, hasn’t happened yet on this car, but I am looking to do it in the next few months.

The power steering on the car was flushed and filled with Redline power steering fluid. This gets changed at the same time as the trans-fluid/coolant.

I change the sparkplugs/fuel filter once a year, and clean the air filter (K&N) at the same time.

The only other regular thing I do is use 1oz/gal of Lucas fuel injector cleaner to the gas tank when the oil gets changed (I time it out so that I have to get a full tank of gas, so for me it’s about 10oz of cleaner and a fill-up), and do the same at the half-way point till the next oil change (same time I change the oil filter). This works out to be about every 3 months (about every 6th tank of gas). Redline does make a good fuel injector cleaner, but I can buy the Lucas product in a 1 gal jug, making the cost-per-application much less, and they both work about the same.

I have tried other products, like Amsoil, Royal Purple, Mobil 1, Enos, Shell Helix, Castrol GTX, Valvoline Redline, ect. They are all good products and the most important thing is to make sure you choose the right weight/formulation of fluid for your application, and change/service the fluid when needed.

One other note, when I say I change the oil every 6 months, and the trans-fluid every other year, ect...I change the fluids when needed based on the current condition of the oil/fluid, some of this is just experience of knowing the feel/look/smell of a fluid when it’s starting to break down. It just ends up that this takes about the same amount of time each change, but sometimes when I add a summer road-trip in, or the ambient temps are abnormally high/low, or other factors can require a more/less frequent change.

Some simple things you can do is check the condition/level of all the fluids in your car (that have a dip-stick or are otherwise easy to check) when you get gas, being that I only have to get gas every 2-3 weeks, I do this every time, along with checking my tires air pressure. If you fill up more frequently you can try every other tank of gas, or every 3rd time, ect.

Once you get in the habit of checking these things you’ll get better at it and it will take less time. I always make sure I keep a few paper-towels in the glove box incase the gas station doesn’t have them. When I pull up the pump I pop my hood, start filling the car with gas and then go to work! I can get everything under the hood done, and get all the valve stem caps off before the pump shuts off (full tank). Then it only takes me another minute or two to finish checking the air pressure and put the caps back on and I’m done. I try to always go to the gas station at off peak times to avoid waiting for a pump or having someone wait for me.

Again, what I do (I know) is a little overkill, but I am fine with spending a bit of extra time/money on the car, it’s really not much in the big picture of owning a car for many years. You will be rewarded with a reliable car, that is fuel efficient and safe.

Please make sure you recycle all the fluids properly! Most major cities will have services that can deal with all kinds of automotive parts/fluids (most auto-zone type places will only take engine oil and nothing else). For private individuals with small quantities to dispose of there is usually no cost, or its minimal. I happen to take my used engine oil to a place that refines it into fuel for restored steam locomotives!

Tip: Plastic cat-liter containers make great short term storage for automotive fluids till you can make a trip to the disposal facility. I have stored various fluids in them for months with no signs of the containers breaking down.