Recent content by nascarnation

I'd recommend measuring temps using a heat gun just for interest sake. Your Allison TES-295 / 668 fluids are going to be robust because of the PAO base. However you can have issues with heat effect on polymers in the transmission even if the fluid is not breaking down. Temp data should lead you...

Just the name is enough to tell you it's the best available on the market!

Curious what your engine oil temp is running at the high duty cycle.

My 2004 SRX had a transmission oil life monitor I think it would have called for a change around 100,000 miles on my duty cycle, but I changed early at 60,000. It also responded well to the Lubegard red anti-shudder to eliminate the torque converter lockup cycling. It was running fine at...

I'm not familiar with Fords and this one in particular. But not many folks do preventative head gasket changeouts on anything. I'd speculate that failures occur slowly rather than abruptly so weekly scrutiny of coolant levels might give you insight on how it's doing. If you wanted accelerated...

Woolwax smells good and is easy on your skin if you're working on the chassis. Been blasting my old S10 for a decade and the stuff works pretty well. That truck is definitely gonna outlive me LOL.

This year I got a new Ferris with a 25hp Briggs and HydroGear ZT2800 wheel units. After mowing for an hour on a 90F day, both the engine and hydros looked to be (using a heat gun) in the 170F range on the oil. Certainly nothing to stress the systems.

After craving a JD for years and then actually owning one for a decade...I concluded they are like a BMW. High performance Poor reliability Parts priced like they are gold plated. As the dealer told me....every young kid gets a green toy tractor....all the marketing is done early...we don't...

It's elastomer coating on a steel core. Typically they last pretty well.

Remember with these you basically have one wheel drive which is a big limitation if there's any slippery areas.

A 4wd ATV with a low range is tough to beat. My old Polaris with only 325cc is a beast for drawbar pull. You have to slip all four wheels to break traction. Great for plowing snow too although for you in Texas not often needed.

Put in a fluid meeting Allison TES-295/468 and never touch it again.

Historically the HF Predators are great engines for the money. I've run them on go karts without problems using pretty much any gas engine oil I had on the shelf including 0W20 and 15W50 syns and 5W30 conventional.

I'd say 15 psi hot idle on a 200,000 mile engine with 5W-20 means it's in great shape.

NIce work. If you can do your own diagnosis and labor, a car like this can save you a LOT of money. The depreciation alone on a new vehicle in the first year of ownership is approaching 5 figure money on typical models.