Potential Issues with low mileage Birds?

[02-T-Bird]

Your bigger problem will be trying to wipe the mile off your face. Get one got to event nd enjoy.

[Will]

Bought my '04 in Sept. of 2007 with 28,540 miles on it. Now has 69,500 on the odometer. Repairs: COPS & SPARK PLUGS. I had Ford replace all. CCV: coolant control valve failed, replaced by Ford for $400. O2 SENSOR: Replaced by Ford for $100. REAR LINKS: Replaced by Ford, covered by ESP warranty. THERMOSTAT & HOUSING: Replaced by Ford at my cost. That's about it. Not bad in regard to cost, I'd say. ---Will

[Quickdraw]

Check ALL the suspension bushings for dry rot. Change the COPS. Change the spark plugs. Change the transmission fluid. Change the coolant, Change the oil and filter. CHANGE THE BRAKE FLUID!!!!

Why are you suggesting he change all the fluids? At 33k and 15 years old are you basing that on the mileage or the 15 years of age? My 2002 with 23,000 miles was at the Ford dealer last year for an oil change and I asked him the check the coolant and change it if necessary because it was 15 years old. They checked it and said it was fine. This year I will take it to a different Ford dealer and ask the same thing. Never has the Ford dealer suggested I change the transmission, brake fluid, coolant or rear end oil.. All that along with the COPS and plugs is probably $1,500 he may not need to spend at all.

[BLACK BEAUTY]

I have two retros now. One with almost 100k and the other with less than 30k. If Baby Blue is half as good as Black Beauty I'll be happy.

[Chris11]

Check ALL the suspension bushings for dry rot. Change the COPS. Change the spark plugs. Change the transmission fluid. Change the coolant, Change the oil and filter. CHANGE THE BRAKE FLUID!!!!

Thank you. Appreciate the specifics.

[BirdsAndBugs]

Why are you suggesting he change all the fluids? At 33k and 15 years old are you basing that on the mileage or the 15 years of age? My 2002 with 23,000 miles was at the Ford dealer last year for an oil change and I asked him the check the coolant and change it if necessary because it was 15 years old. They checked it and said it was fine. This year I will take it to a different Ford dealer and ask the same thing. Never has the Ford dealer suggested I change the transmission, brake fluid, coolant or rear end oil.. All that along with the COPS and plugs is probably $1,500 he may not need to spend at all.

Harry, I would tend to agree with you. My 2003 is 15 years old and still has all it's original fluids (except for oil obviously). When I got my 2005, I had Ford change the oil and check the fluids. Nothing got changed there either except for the oil. It's never been a concern for Team Ford here either. Mileage seems be more of a concern than age when it comes to useful life of the various fluids which are all superior to what they use to be many years ago.

[007Cruiser]

I guess your dealer doesn't follow the Ford recommendations. Page 34 of the 2003 Universal Service Guide tells you to change the coolant at 5 years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first). After the first change it's every three years or 50,000 miles.

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Fo.../03nmgmg6e.pdf

[Quickdraw]

I guess your dealer doesn't follow the Ford recommendations. Page 34 of the 2003 Universal Service Guide tells you to change the coolant at 5 years or 100,000 miles (whichever comes first). After the first change it's every three years or 50,000 miles.

http://www.fordservicecontent.com/Fo.../03nmgmg6e.pdf

At that rate I would have changed my coolant three times, or every other oil change. I tend to be more of a gambler than many here and often use my own judgement over someone else's opinion.. I had a 2002 Lincoln LS - the exact same engine as my 2002 Tbird. I NEVER put 93 octane in the LS - always 87 octane - for over 100,000 miles. Most of the time I do put 93 octane in the Tbird but if the price differential is too high Ill get 89 or even 87 octane. The computers in the car prevent spark knock and I am unable to tell any difference between the 93 and 87 octane. As for the coolant I agree with the author below:
"

The schedule for many Chevrolets, though, is a change at 150,000 miles regardless of how the vehicle is driven." ( I don't think Fords are more fragile than Chevys)

"if testing shows the coolant is still doing its job protecting from overheating and not allowing corrosion, changing it more often than what the manufacturer recommends could be a waste of money." https://www.cars.com/articles/how-of...1420680853669/ Why do some recommend changing the coolant 3 or 4 times more often than others?

[007Cruiser]

I still have the original coolant too, Harry. Guess I’m just saying that the Ford dealers don’t follow their own guidelines. Pretty amazing as they’re in the business of selling stuff. I don’t use enough gas for the price difference to mean anything so it’s premium for me. I’ve had other daily drivers that called for premium and I ran them on regular all the time. Never a problem.

[BirdsAndBugs]

For the Thunderbirds, I've been doing services based more on mileage than time. These cars aren't my daily drivers so the mileage is rather low for 13 and 15 year old cars. But I do check the fluids regularly as does Team Ford when they are in for service. If either of us saw something unusual, we would clearly address it. So far, no issues and everythings running great.

[Brad]

Why are you suggesting he change all the fluids? At 33k and 15 years old are you basing that on the mileage or the 15 years of age? My 2002 with 23,000 miles was at the Ford dealer last year for an oil change and I asked him the check the coolant and change it if necessary because it was 15 years old. They checked it and said it was fine. This year I will take it to a different Ford dealer and ask the same thing. Never has the Ford dealer suggested I change the transmission, brake fluid, coolant or rear end oil.. All that along with the COPS and plugs is probably $1,500 he may not need to spend at all.

When you buy a used car you don't know what fluids the previous owner added (or didn't). Some people add plain water to low radiators. Stopping is very important to me and I wouldn't want to risk even a minor degradation in performance due to 16 year old brake fluid. If you change it while bleeding brakes during brake replacement why not replace the fluid for an extra 20 bucks? I may take this to heart because I had a catastrophic brake system failure when I needed to stop while driving in excess of 100mph (in my youth)

[BLACK BEAUTY]

If you love your car ..take good care of it

[AZTB]

If you love your car ..take good care of it

...couldn't have been said better!

[bsedwebt]

Do what you want to with your car. I am just saying from my experience - I have owned dozens, dozens, dozens, dozens and more dozens of cars/trucks/suv's/motorhome/trailers/boats/motorcycles/mopeds/etc.... and driven untold hundreds of thousands of miles. Change all the fluids regularly as age affects them more than most are aware. With or without mileage - Brake fluid collects water and should be changed regularly. Coolant changes chemically and eats away stuff. Radiator cap seals fail from age. Oil breaks down and collects water. Transmission fluid degrades.... The fluids in my cars have all been changed regularly. The coolant and transmission fluid has been changed out twice since new on my bird. The brake fluid changed 1 time but should have been sooner - it had broken down so much the brakes lost effectiveness down a medium long grade with minimal brake application. The COPS are a ticking time bomb - they WILL fail and at the worst possible time. Spark plugs will seize in the head if not attended to. If done now there is peace of mind and reliability to consider. I also did every single underside suspension piece as they were all dry rotted, brake rotors, pads, calipers, power steering fluid and replace the pressure valve - another ticking time bomb. I did all this on my current 2003 Thunderbird as it is the wife's car and 100% dependability is of utmost importance. Sure it cost me thousands of dollars on top of the premium price I paid for a low mileage bird BUT peace of mind costs money. It is foolish to think you will hop into a 15 year old car that has had little done to it thinking it will be dependable just because it is low mileage. COPS are so easy to do and cheap - If you are nearby and want help doing it come on by - it can be done in an hour or so with new plugs etc... - do not go to the dealer!

[11TH GEN]

If you love your car ..take good care of it

Very Insightful. You get a well deserved