Maintenance for 2018 Max Limited at 180,000 miles

Hi guys!
I just purchased a 2018 Ford Expedition Max Limited at the ripe mileage of 180,000.

This was previously a livery vehicle and so almost all of the miles are highway miles. I communicated with the seller and their mechanic for a couple weeks before buying and had the truck inspected by an independent mechanic as well.

Here is my question: What are things I should check for or watch out for maintenance wise that might increase the life of the vehicle? What preventative maintenance have you all found to be effective?

Right now, I am planning to address little items -
- crawl around underneath and look for lose or missing panels/screws
- oil change
- engine air filter change
- cabin air filter change
- are spark plugs worth changing?
- is goig through the conversion/ upgrade to LED headlights worth the effort?

Backround:

Vehicle condition - Very good
- interior is bascially perfect, detailed very often
- no rust
- sun shade works but glass does not function on moon roof - haven't messed with it just yet
- I was told the rear defrost is functional, but the wire that should be touching the rear glass is just hanging down from the cabin ceiling which makes me think.... it doesn't work
- I have experienced the well documented side mirrors spazzing out and making a clicking noise once, but only once

From the independent inspection report -
- No concerns, came back "clean". Service manager said he would have no hesitation purchasing the vehicle
- Small leak on axel seals - was deamed to be a 2.5/5 scale severity. I was told this is a common problem and doesn't need to be adressed at this time.
- Tire treads low (will replace soon) tire reccomendations?
- Vehicle is still riding on OEM shocks, but shocks don't bounce too much or display other mechanical issues

From the Seller's Mechanic, work completed within the last 40,000 miles -
- Front/ Rear diff change
- Coolant flush
- Transmission fluid flush
- Radiator cleaned
- Cam phasers replaced
- Timing chain replaced
- Front Rotors machined
- Front break pads replaced

You can regap the plugs if you like. Or just wait for a misfire. Get an OBD2 reader so if any codes pop up you can read them. The most important thing was the fluid changes and seems as though those have been done. Monitor coolant levels and add some dye, as the water pump and turbo coolant lines may need replacement eventually. For the headlights, they degrade over time, so if you're going to replace them then may as well be early in ownership. Also snag some LED tail lights so you don't have to worry about about those failing.

With that mileage, I would sock away several hundred each month for potential future repairs because any major repairs will be $$$. If nothing goes wrong you got a little stash of money for the next vehicle.

Get the bilsteins if it has the standard shocks. Some limiteds have ccd. If it has the 22s, it’s ccd.

Plugs to get are ngk ruthenium. I noticed the off idle is sharper than the oems that had no wear that I went ahead and changed since I was already that far. It’s an easy job to diy.

Change the thermostat to the rt1252. It’s cut 15-20 degrees off my trans temps. I always drive with that on the top screen so I knew right away the tsb was legit for changing the thermostat. No more 205 trans temp!

The ac flows so much better with the motorcraft premium filter. I tried a Hepa and it still let smells in the cab and the flow was reduced. So went back with the better grade of the factory. No a super hard diy, but after doing a Toyota I want to smack the guy that tried to make this a dealer deal.

Flush the brake fluid too. I restore classics and junk in the brake system is a pet peeve of mine. I get lots of life out of oem calipers on late model stuff by doing flushes at regular intervals.

I have 185k on my 2018. I have owned it since 70k~ in 2020. I’ve had to replace coolant lines, but I think that was resulting from high coolant temperatures. The high temperature is resolved with an updated thermostat. I’ve also replaced a vct solenoid on the left bank, two years ago. Not a big deal. Everything else, aside from the cam rattle and turbo rattle seems to be doing well. I change my oil and my plugs regularly; otherwise I do not mess with things preemptively (transmission flushes, what have you). I fix problems as they arise, and drive it in a way that doesn’t create problems.
Also, I had some issues with the catalytic converters, but I resolved that in an unconventional manner. I’m sure there are more appropriate ways to fix that. Good luck!

blue_roster_cult said:

I have 185k on my 2018. I have owned it since 70k~ in 2020. I’ve had to replace coolant lines, but I think that was resulting from high coolant temperatures. The high temperature is resolved with an updated thermostat. I’ve also replaced a vct solenoid on the left bank, two years ago. Not a big deal. Everything else, aside from the cam rattle and turbo rattle seems to be doing well. I change my oil and my plugs regularly; otherwise I do not mess with things preemptively (transmission flushes, what have you). I fix problems as they arise, and drive it in a way that doesn’t create problems.
Also, I had some issues with the catalytic converters, but I resolved that in an unconventional manner. I’m sure there are more appropriate ways to fix that. Good luck!

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Thanks for the response. At what intervals do you change your oil and plugs? What brands do you prefer or reccomend?

I ran Schaeffer 9000 5w-30 for the first half of ownership and went 9k, when I had the cam cover off to replace the solenoid it was clean as a pin. Whether the long interval contributed to the solenoid failure, I can’t say. None others have failed since. I now use Motorcraft blend on 7k intervals (longer than I actually feel comfortable, but it’s my wife’s regular car and she drives A LOT). I think I’ve done plugs twice in the span of 100k miles. I’m pretty sensitive to minor misfires and i simply changed them at the first sign. I put Motorcraft plugs in both times.

I don’t necessarily recommend my way of doing things, I just like to give people data points. People can be pretty uptight when it comes to how to maintain things, but this expy is still on the road running great for the time being.

Definitely recommend the thermostat upgrade if at any point you see high temps. Mine ran for a long time before I replaced the thermostat. But it is a big relief to have it running cooler. Better mileage too.

discguy77 said:

Thanks for the response. At what intervals do you change your oil and plugs? What brands do you prefer or reccomend?

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Not directed to me, but I'll add my two cents. So much depends on your driving cycle, fuel, etc. Long highway trips are easier on oil and plugs than shorter driving, which will see more RPM changes and higher RPMs. For plugs, the gaps open up within 60K, but you might not see misfires until well beyond. It generally comes down to your preference for preventive maintenance, or waiting until it acts up. I think 60K is a good interval, because my boots came apart when I changed the original plugs at 90K. I would hate to repeat the experience of pulling out the rubber pieces.

My recollection is that Ford recommends WSS-M2C945-B1 rated oils. I suggest any full synthetic 5W-30 with 5,000 - 7,500K changes and Motorcraft filters. You can get a Blackstone oil analysis to see how the oil is doing. I've done changes from 6K to 10K and don't have not experienced any oil related issues with my vehicle, nor have I seen anyone else claim they had a oil related failure. All my reports over 6,000 have come back solid, but I've seen mechanics show clogged turbo oil feed line filters so I'll probably stick to 6,000 going forward. The biggest issues with the powertrain appear to be design failures (timing chain, manifold warpage, etc.). I switched to Castrol Edge 5W-40 Euro, but have a tune and will probably experience some fuel dilution. I also do my own changes, so cost isn't really a factor with the small amount of driving I do.

JasonH said:

Not directed to me, but I'll add my two cents. So much depends on your driving cycle, fuel, etc. Long highway trips are easier on oil and plugs than shorter driving, which will see more RPM changes and higher RPMs. For plugs, the gaps open up within 60K, but you might not see misfires until well beyond. It generally comes down to your preference for preventive maintenance, or waiting until it acts up. I think 60K is a good interval, because my boots came apart when I changed the original plugs at 90K. I would hate to repeat the experience of pulling out the rubber pieces.

My recollection is that Ford recommends WSS-M2C945-B1 rated oils. I suggest any full synthetic 5W-30 with 5,000 - 7,500K changes and Motorcraft filters. You can get a Blackstone oil analysis to see how the oil is doing. I've done changes from 6K to 10K and don't have not experienced any oil related issues with my vehicle, nor have I seen anyone else claim they had a oil related failure. All my reports over 6,000 have come back solid, but I've seen mechanics show clogged turbo oil feed line filters so I'll probably stick to 6,000 going forward. The biggest issues with the powertrain appear to be design failures (timing chain, manifold warpage, etc.). I switched to Castrol Edge 5W-40 Euro, but have a tune and will probably experience some fuel dilution. I also do my own changes, so cost isn't really a factor with the small amount of driving I do.

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Thank you for the response! I'll definetly stay on top of the oil, I also change it myself. The plugs are the only thing I'm questioning because they're a bit more of an undertaking for me. I don't know when the plugs were last replaced, and I'm also not experiencing any issues right now. Do you use Motorcraft for those as well?

discguy77 said:

Thank you for the response! I'll definetly stay on top of the oil, I also change it myself. The plugs are the only thing I'm questioning because they're a bit more of an undertaking for me. I don't know when the plugs were last replaced, and I'm also not experiencing any issues right now. Do you use Motorcraft for those as well?

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The Motorcraft plugs are made by NGK. Either one is fine if the correct part number is used. If the plugs have never been replaced, there's no harm in replacing them. The difficulty level can vary based on the condition of the boots. The first time I replaced mine, most of the boots ripped, which required me to extract chunks of rubber and blow out the plug wells. It was a pain and very stressful, as I had not anticipated that level of effort and didn't have the necessary tools on hand to pull all the rubber pieces out. A pair of long pliers is useful if this happens and there's tool someone referenced on this forum that can be use to extract torn boots as well. The plugs probably fall into the category of fix if it ain't broke...you're unlikely to notice any improvement unless there is an existing issue, like misfires or rough idle.

Another thing to mention is a jlt catch can. I get tons of oil in mine. I check it every 3k.