high mileage for current job

[lbcwes86]

hey everyone i bought my used 2003 ford expedition xlt back in january and started a job in february with about 122,000 miles on it. its about a 140 miles a day commute there and back 5 days a week.
ive been there now around ~6 months and and up to about 144,000 miles and basically wanted to know if im overdoing it with my car. i cant afford to fix any serious issues or buy another car and i dont want to burn out the only ride i have. i have been getting oil changes every 1 - 1.5 months .
what do you guys think?

PS: im new here and if this post is in the wrong area i apologize

 

[whtbronco]

Welcome.

Your Expedition will handle the miles so long as you keep up with the maintenance. Unless you have evidence it's been done recently I suggest at this age and mileage you change every fluid in it. Transmission fluid and filter, coolant, brake fluid, transfer case and both differentials.

Use the best quality fluids you can afford to, keep in mind if you can't afford to make major repairs then maintenance is the only way to potentially delay them. For instance fully synthetic is not the same as 100% synthetic, it's a play on words that oil industry seems to have gotten the gov't approve. Fully Synthetic must be 52% synthetic or more, but 100% synthetic must be 100%. It's my opinion that synthetics last longer and provide improved lubrication.

 

[Fastcar]

Welcome.

Your Expedition will handle the miles so long as you keep up with the maintenance. Unless you have evidence it's been done recently I suggest at this age and mileage you change every fluid in it. Transmission fluid and filter, coolant, brake fluid, transfer case and both differentials.

Use the best quality fluids you can afford to, keep in mind if you can't afford to make major repairs then maintenance is the only way to potentially delay them. For instance fully synthetic is not the same as 100% synthetic, it's a play on words that oil industry seems to have gotten the gov't approve. Fully Synthetic must be 52% synthetic or more, but 100% synthetic must be 100%. It's my opinion that synthetics last longer and provide improved lubrication.

Using syn will get expensive at his rate of oil changes.

 

[whtbronco]

Using syn will get expensive at his rate of oil changes.

True it could, if you run extended drain intervals it's not nearly as bad. I change the oil once a year or 25k miles which ever comes first. Been doing this since new, 307k on my Expedition and 209k on our Monte Carlo. It's a choice though and I'm glad we still have options to choose from.

 

[Fastcar]

True it could, if you run extended drain intervals it's not nearly as bad. I change the oil once a year or 25k miles which ever comes first. Been doing this since new, 307k on my Expedition and 209k on our Monte Carlo. It's a choice though and I'm glad we still have options to choose from.

Yup, you can do that on a new truck. The OP has a 13 year old 140K mile truck of unknown lineage, not the time for a changeover imo.

 

[Kleblanc753]

I agree, with adequate maintenance and normal driving habits, these drive trains will make it to 300,000 or more. I see them all the time, in fact my 2003 xlt, 4.6 2wd has 234,000. She is still going strong with original drive train and timing chain. Of course I don't abuse her, and have changed all the fluids and filters regularly. Besides highway mileage is best for an engine, and these engines cruise at low rpms at highway speeds. They are understressd engines made to go and go some more. The two valve imparticular have a better track record, due to lack of variable timing. Of course you will have to change accessorie components over time: water pump, starter, ect, but parts are fairly cheap and the work is still manageable for the average do it yourself mechanic.You have an 03 like me, so you should have the two valve which is better in my opinion. The 3 valve with variable timing came out in 05. So bottom line, take care of her and she will take care of you. Besides the stuff they are making today is disposable, cheaply made, delicate, overpriced, overly complicated, a nightmare to work on, and more prone to expensive repairs.

 

[Vincent Vega]

The the 03s and 04s are an excellent value and good for exactly what you are using it for. I have 165k on my 04, which is the same thing as the 03. Very reliable with a few weakpoints such as the intake manifold (coolant and/or vacuum leaks), fuel pump, and fuel pump solenoid. Mine drives like a new truck, but part of that is because I treat it like gold with oil changes at 5k miles, trans service every 30k, and coolant service every 30k, differentials every 60k. You will be fine as long as you don't drive like a maniac, use Motorcraft parts (no cheapo Amazon junk), and adhere to a good service interval like I mentioned.

 

[whtbronco]

Yup, you can do that on a new truck. The OP has a 13 year old 140K mile truck of unknown lineage, not the time for a changeover imo.

I have immediately changed every vehicle I've bought in the last 34yrs to Amsoil front to back upon getting it home. Except coolant and brake fluid I still use Prestone, never found a reason to change those. Vehicles at purchase had between 3 miles and 382k miles. Maybe I'm just fortunate not to have had issues. Synthetics will clean things up and I can't see that being a bad thing. I am aware of the old saying "you can't change a high mileage engine to synthetic" I've just disproven that theory from my perspective. Sure conventional oil sludges up more so it could in theory plug or partially plug a cracked gasket and synthetic would clean it up and show that a mechanical failure was present, but synthetic didn't cause it.

Anyway, this has been my experience and I'm certainly no expert at any of this.