Low Brake Fluid 2009 Ford Taurus

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
I see. Which fluid is better, I did a pan drop from a shop a few months ago, remember, because of the sheared bolt, and I used motorcraft merc v. I heard castrol trans fluids are good, the valvoline merc v isn't as good as the castrol but what about the amsoil? Amsoil has one for the newer trans which is mercon lv as well as toyota ws, whereas the older amsoil which they sell at this belle tire for 11.99 a quart, is toyota type iv (4) compatible as well as mercon v compatible. is that worth getting? it'd work in both the taurus and camry, and would it work well as power steering fluid, the amsoil, and would it benefit, or would it only benefit if I use it as trans fluid in the trans during the next drain and fill? I want to do a ps fluid change with the baster method this spring, would amsoil help, or is using motorcarft mercon v good enough? Thanks.


For your situation, whatever dealer sells you is the best, because that will be the right fluid instead of cheaper, better, last longer, "heard it is better", "will also work in". Stick with OEM until you know what you are doing.

You can buy exactly the amount of fluid you want by the quart for each car, instead of trying to combine them to use the same fluid in both cars.

Look at the cap of your PS fluid reservoir to see what fluid to use, stick to it unless you know why you want to do something different (which in your case you don't).

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
as the car is nearing 100k, i worry the struts may go bad soon, does the dealership offer quick struts, or are they seperate strut and strut mounts and if I don't use motorcraft dealer struts, what's a good aftermarket for ford struts? Thanks. for the serp belt, there's 2, the drivebelt powered by the alternator as well as the ps one, I heard it was a PITA so I might have a mechanic do it, with a belt, you don't have to worry about a mechanic doing it, but with wheel bearintgs, I heard mechanics often mess it up by doing it wrong/too quickly, so suspension stuff, if you DIY it's good but belts, it's just putting a belt on, but for this vehicle it's a pain, so if you pay someone else to do it and save you that pain, you have nothing to worry about. so motorcraft or bando? motorcraft oem parts are way chepaer than toyota oem parts, should i just get the dealership oem serp belt, and do I change both, or just change the main one? Any brand you recommend for the tensioner?

spark plugs, I guss I'll try to DIY, i'll use motorcraft, but if I ca't, I'll get a mechanic, are ford 3.5 v6's really hard to do or not really? Just use a u joint and a 1/4 drive and you should be all set? you have to remove the intake manifold, is that hard or no? Thanks.


I heard mechanics and dealerships have much lower chances of messing up than your DIY. Maybe you should ask them to do just enough work so you can pass inspection or rust out.

 

[engineer20]

there are no state inspections in MI and rust isn't an issue as of now, the 03 camry or 09 taurus both aren't "rusted out"
but I was just wondering about the struts, and this is an oil fanatics website, so i was wondering the ford motorcraft mercon v vs the synthetics. This trans and ps uses mercon v, the newest fords use mercon lv, which isn't what this one uses, but was just wondering about different brands of mercon v

also, before i started DIYing oil changes, mechanics would constantly mess up and overfill my camry oil, which is when I decided to DIY, and if you can diy a wheel bearing, it's better than the dealerships, or mechanics, since they care about time and money, so they don't put as much care into it, it's all about profits and squeezing more cars in, so they rush on jobs, and while they don't make a mistake that's immediately apparent, it may show up oin the long run by not doing a quality job, taking their time.

 

[jigen]

Depends where you go. There are dependable shops out there where mechanics take pride in their work.

 

[mk378]

No one can say you're not taking your time on these DIY jobs. If you took your car to a shop for a strut replacement and three weeks later thay say it is not ready, would you complement them since they're obviously doing a very careful job?

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
there are no state inspections in MI and rust isn't an issue as of now, the 03 camry or 09 taurus both aren't "rusted out"


Car has a service life, you can do everything you want on your car for fun, but there's a point where money is better spent replacing the ride instead of fixing it. Usually, people don't do whole suspension replacement on a 10 year old family car where they salt the road, because it is better to sell it and get something newer. You will not get your money worth by replacing everything vs just leave it alone and get used to the ride.

Quote:
but I was just wondering about the struts, and this is an oil fanatics website, so i was wondering the ford motorcraft mercon v vs the synthetics. This trans and ps uses mercon v, the newest fords use mercon lv, which isn't what this one uses, but was just wondering about different brands of merton v also, before i started DIYing oil changes, mechanics would constantly mess up and overfill my camry oil, which is when I decided to DIY,


For your situation, you don't know enough about the ATF and PS fluid to take chances, so for your purposes just stick with what OEM said on the cap. You can choose different brand and they are all good enough, but don't try to switch different formula like swapping Mercon for Mercon V, unless the bottle or jug said it is "also good for" or "recommend for". Are you feeling lucky? Go buy a lottery ticket instead of switching different formula.

Quote:
and if you can diy a wheel bearing, it's better than the dealerships, or mechanics, since they care about time and money, so they don't put as much care into it, it's all about profits and squeezing more cars in, so they rush on jobs, and while they don't make a mistake that's immediately apparent, it may show up oin the long run by not doing a quality job, taking their time.


Do you have a hydraulic press? If not then you cannot DIY wheel bearing. Case closed.

You can put all the care into it and spend all the money in the world, and you still couldn't get the wheel bearing into the knuckle. It wouldn't fit in there because the wheel bearing is bigger than the knuckle, and the only non destructive way to put it in is with a press.

Are you going to spend $1000 on a press to DIY a wheel bearing job that only cost you $350, parts and labor included?

 

[engineer20]

You can DIY the bearing, but not a full DIY, they have to press it in, if you bring in the steering knuckle.

Also, the rust spot on the wheel well (outside) of the taurus, began redeveloping rust, after I completely sanded it down and sprayed on layer after layer of dupli color paint! Should I sand it baack down with an angle grinder, if so, what sort of wheel, as i'm new to using angle grinders. Or is sandpaper good enough,and what grit, as I bought a multi variety pack of sand paper at h freight the other day, its' going to snow into march, so in about a month, I will rework this rust, maybe get another brand paint, not this cheap dupli color [censored]? napa branded paint? The car is red, what about using some napa white paint on it and then finalizaing it with the cheap dupli clor red, and what about using primer, i didn't use primer th efirst time, is that what caused the rust to get worse? use primer? and that will prevent rust? what brand? rustoleum or the harbor freight brand? Thanks.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
You can DIY the bearing, but not a full DIY, they have to press it in, if you bring in the steering knuckle.


So, you want to DIY to save money right?

If you ask someone to install the bearing and you just hand over the key, that's probably 1.5-2 hr labor.

If you ask someone to press in the bearing to the knuckle you take off, that's 1 hr of labor.

0.5 to 1 hr of labor, once in the life of your car, is only about $60-120. That's not much of a saving to me.

 

[engineer20]

I see. But what about rust? The wheel well area rusted again after the layers of dupli color I sprayed! Use napa paint? use primer? did the lack of primer cause it to re-rust? What should I sand it down with? A dermmel? An angle grinder? sandpaper? Suggestions?

 

[engineer20]

here's the picture of it

kind of blurry, the rust is forming again over that cheap dupli color "ford" paint. use primer again? sand it down again?

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
kind of blurry, the rust is forming again over that cheap dupli color "ford" paint. use primer again? sand it down again?


Get a new fender at the junkyard.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: artbuc
Originally Posted By: engineer20
kind of blurry, the rust is forming again over that cheap dupli color "ford" paint. use primer again? sand it down again?


Get a new fender at the junkyard.


That's the cheapest way to go, or craigslist, or eBay.

EB20, you may not like the answer but it seems like you do not know how paint works. If you do not clean up all the rust till it is shiny metal it will come back. If you do not use primer the paint won't bond and would peel very soon.

And if you use a spray can it will be runny and not look good. Compressor and spray equipment will cost you money, and you have to find a place to do it right, without complains from neighbors and EPA, and not damaging everything around (not in a public garage where paints will land on other cars, etc).

Buy a used fender, and swap it out.

 

[engineer20]

I sanded it down to bare metal, then sprayed it with spray paint (in a can/bottle) caleld dupli color red and it said "matches ford colors" and is a similar color though it's not a perfect match. I spray painted my camry with white paint to prevent rust. I'm thinking about doing the same on this panel.

i DID sand it down to bare metal, it looked like stainless, with sandpaper last time, the orignal time, when I was there, after workign on the caliper, BUT this time, I'm asking, can I sand it down with a dremmel or angle grinder and would that be better or is sandpaper better? I'll apply primer (is rustoleum a good brand?) and then spray paint it white with napa paints (seems good quality) and then the final layer(s) use the dupli color so it color matches, does that sound good?

 

[engineer20]

I was at h freight and there's a leap year sale this weekend, and was wondering what sort of primer was best. I saw a fillable/filler primer, as well as a sandable primer, as well as this other primer, forgot what it was called, but 3 kinds, which one is best or is it a 3 step or 2 step system and which primer resists rust the best? as I'd sand down to bare metal, add primer(s) then several layers of napa white paint before I paint it over with red paint. and how is chasis paint? h freight had chasis paint too! should I spray that all over my suspension components? or at least when i'm replacing it, spray the new part with chasis paint? it said resistant to high temps, can i use it as caliper paint or is it not that heat resistant? Thanks.

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: engineer20

I was at h freight and there's a leap year sale this weekend, and was wondering what sort of primer was best. I saw a fillable/filler primer, as well as a sandable primer, as well as this other primer, forgot what it was called, but 3 kinds, which one is best or is it a 3 step or 2 step system and which primer resists rust the best? as I'd sand down to bare metal, add primer(s) then several layers of napa white paint before I paint it over with red paint. and how is chasis paint? h freight had chasis paint too! should I spray that all over my suspension components? or at least when i'm replacing it, spray the new part with chasis paint? it said resistant to high temps, can i use it as caliper paint or is it not that heat resistant? Thanks.


Google how to restore a rusted fender and leave us alone.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: artbuc
Google how to restore a rusted fender and leave us alone.


Now now, be nice.

Artbuc does have a point though. I would say that mechanical and maintenance forum are not oriented toward spray painting a car, as we normally don't do this kind of stuff.

You may find better answers elsewhere regarding to paints.

 

[engineer20]

Is Chassis paint any good?

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
Is Chassis paint any good?


Absolutely! I just painted my living room with it and my wife loves it. Make sure you use a 3/8" nap roller.

 

[engineer20]

might as well not comment, artbuc, if you're going to be a poor sport and post like that. i'm serious, in my questions.

 

[artbuc]

Originally Posted By: engineer20
might as well not comment, artbuc, if you're going to be a poor sport and post like that. i'm serious, in my questions.


Ok, I promise. No more responses from me. Good luck.