New 2005 owner, what to do to prep for towing?

[Chris F.]

Hi folks,

I'm a new Expedition owner, which I bought to tow my track car to race tracks in a 200-300 mile radius of home (loaded weight of ~4,250). The truck is a 2005 eddie bauer, was from the original owner, seems pretty clean, and has the HD tow package, limited slip, and "safety package" (rear seansors) as the relevant options. The truck had 113k when I bought it, and I've put about 1,000 miles on it (unloaded) with no issues.

I'm looking for advice on preventative maintenance you'd all recommend, since I don't have a service history for it (my local ford dealer said they could only pull warranty work, not worked performed at other dealers). The oil change was current, though, and it had a motorcraft battery, and I'm hoping it was cared for mechanically as well as it was cosmetically.

I was thinking:
- rear axle fluid change (w/ LSD friction modifier)
- brake fluid flush
- transmission flush?
- coolant flush? or just test it?

Anything else I should check out? Any problem areas or spare parts I should keep on hand, in case I get stranded?

What about mods to help w/ towing or fuel economy? It looks like a lot of aftermarket tuners don't support the 2005 or 2006 (from their websites, at least). I'm not looking for anything that might sacrifice reliability for a short term improvement.


Any suggestions are appreciated!

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Stoned06]

What you have listed for preventative maintenance is a good list to have done. Check your brakes and make sure your trailer connections are working properly and the electric brake hookup is good.
How many miles on it? Have plugs been changed? At that weight you should have no problem pulling the trailer as I had a 6000 lb trailer that towed with absolutely no problem.

 

[Chris F.]

Thanks. It's at 114,*** and I'm not sure if the plugs have been out yet. Is there any visual way to tell original vs. replacement plugs?

Brakes look good all around, they look to me like they were changed w/in the last 5 or 10k (still have a lot of leading-edge taper to them, and plenty of meat on the outboard edge).