Service Points for '87-96 gas engines
IF THE IMAGE IS TOO SMALL, click it.
'96 Bronco Maintenance Guide'96 Bronco Owner's ManualFord service disk images (free) '92-07For the '92 & '96 normal & severe maintenance schedules, read this caption:
The power steering system uses ATF ONLY - not "power steering fluid". Read the owner's manual, or the dipstick.
The hydraulic clutch uses DOT3 brake fluid, and it goes UNDER the rubber diaphragm. After removing the MC cap, remove the rubber diaphragm and empty the diaphragm. Fluid ONLY belongs under it, in the reservoir. Observe the fill line so fluid doesn't overflow when reinstalling the diaphragm.
All gas engines take 6 quarts of oil with a new filter. Drain bolt torque: 15-25 lb-ft
If the vehicle is used in a manner that allows it to remain stationary while the engine is running for long periods (door-to-door delivery, power/utility company trucks or similar duty), then Ford recommends increasing frequency of oil and filter changes to an interval equivalent to 200 engine hours of use. Since most vehicles are not equipped with hourmeters, it may be necessary to approximate idle time and plan oil/filter changes accordingly.
Use only MotorCraft Mercon ATF - cheap fluids aren't worth what they cost.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
TSB 89-09-10 Normal Oil Consumption
Publication Date: MAY 3, 1989
FORD: 1986-89 ALL FORD LINES
LINCOLN-MERCURY: 1986-89 ALL LINCOLN-MERCURY LINES
MERKUR: 1986-89 ALL MERKUR LINES
LIGHT TRUCK: 1986-89 ALL LIGHT TRUCK LINES
ISSUE: The following information can be used to inform vehicle owners about "normal" oil consumption in today's engines.
ACTION: Use the following information to assist in explaining "normal" oil consumption to vehicle owners.
The amount of oil an engine uses will vary with the way the vehicle is driven in addition to normal engine-to-engine variation. This is especially true during the first 7500 miles (12000 kilometers), when a new engine is being "broken-in" or until certain internal engine components become conditioned. Vehicles used in heavy duty operation (severe service) may use more oil. The following are examples of heavy duty operation:
* Trailer towing applications
* Taxi cab applications
* Police service applications
* Severe loading applications
* Sustained high speed operation
Engines need oil to lubricate the following internal components:
* Engine block cylinder walls
* Pistons and piston rings
* Intake and exhaust valve stems
* Intake and exhaust valve guides
* All internal engine components
When the pistons move downward, a thin film of oil is left on the cylinder walls. The thin film of oil is burned away on the firing stroke during combustion. If an engine burned a drop of oil during each firing stroke, oil consumption would be about one (1) quart for every mile traveled. Fortunately modern engines use much less oil than this example. However, even efficient engines will use some oil or they would quickly wear out. Additionally as the vehicle is operated, some oil is drawn into the combustion chambers past the intake and exhaust valve stem seals and burned.
A lot of different things can affect oil consumption rates. The following is a partial list of these items:
* Engine size
* Operator driving habits
* Ambient temperature
* Quality and viscosity of the oil
Operation under varying conditions can be frequently misleading. A vehicle that has been run for several thousand miles (kilometers) of short trip operation or below freezing ambient temperatures, may have consumed a "normal" amount of oil. However, when checking the engine oil level, it may measure up to the full mark on the dipstick due to dilution (condensation and fuel) in the engine crankcase. The vehicle then might be driven at high speeds on the highway where the condensation and fuel boil off. The next time the engine oil is checked, it may appear that a quart of oil was used in a hundred or so miles. This perceived 100-mile per quart (160-kilometer per quart) oil consumption rate causes customer concern even though the actual overall all oil consumption rate was about 1500-miles per quart (2400-kilometers per quart).
Make sure the selected engine oil meets the recommended API performance category "SG" and SAE viscosity grade as shown in the vehicle Owner Guide. It is also important that the engine oil is changed at the intervals specified for the typical operating conditions of the customer. This information is available in the Owner Guide, Maintenance Schedule and Record log.
OTHER APPLICABLE ARTICLES: NONE
SUPERSEDES: 86-11-16
WARRANTY STATUS: INFORMATION ONLY
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE DANGER OF CHANGING THE ATF
I'm no slushbox expert, but this is how I understand it:
A) Starting with a good trans & the right fluid, over time, debris is generated in the trans due to normal wear & contamination. The fluid contains detergent additives that keep this debris suspended in the fluid until it can flow back to the filter to be removed.
B) But the fluid only contains SO MUCH detergent. So if it's not changed on-schedule, the debris doesn't get suspended, and it settles out all over the trans. But this alone doesn't cause any immediate problems, which is why so many people neglect the trans fluid for so long.
C) Eventually, someone realizes how old the fluid is, and changes it with fresh detergent-rich fluid. This begins to break up the deposits, but it also loosens large chunks, which can block up the valve body's fine passages & ports, causing MAJOR damage.
D) From what I've seen, there are 2 possible ways to avoid this damage:
1) rebuild the trans
2) change the filter & fluid once, using decent aftermarket ATF. It's also a good time to add the drain plug kit. Then drive 50-200 miles to break up most of the deposits. Then change the fluid & filter again, using MotorCraft Mercon. If the trans goes out after that, it was going out anyway.
__________________________________________
The PCV System
No matter how new or well-made an engine is, the piston rings (or seals in a Wankel rotary) can't capture 100% of the combustion gases. There will always be some blowby, resulting in contamination of the crankcase oil. These contaminants most often include water (the ideal result of combustion, which remains a vapor at normal engine temperature), fuel (fuel molecules are smaller than oil molecules, so they pass by the rings more easily), soot (which turns the oil black), and various acidic gases. To reduce the accumulation of these contaminants (which rapidly affects the oil's viscosity & effectiveness), the crankcase must be positively ventilated. This means forcing a draft of air through the crankcase to carry these vapors out. But rather than venting them under the hood, the vapors are contained within the PCV system and routed into the intake system to be burned in the engine.
Since the system is powered by negative pressure (engine vacuum), I'm going to describe it in reverse:
The PCV system ends with a tube carrying the vapor-laden (& often oil-laden) airstream into the intake manifold to be burned. This tube comes from the PCV valve, which regulates the quantity of air "leaking" into the intake, and also contains a one-way valve to prevent backfires in the intake from burning into or overpressuring the crankcase. (The valve or the tube may include another port where the fuel tank vapor system is combined.) The PCV valve is installed either in an oil separator chamber outside the crankcase, or in a valve cover which often contains an oil separator, or sometimes midway in the tube to make access/replacement easier. The valve must be replaced regularly because its mechanism is lightweight (generally gravity-operated), and is easily fouled by normal engine operation. The oil separator is necessary to prevent crankcase oil from entering the intake system, fouling sensors, coating the valve stems (which accelerates wear on the valve guides), fouling the spark plugs, or increasing HC emissions. Because most oil separators are not designed to be easily serviced (and rarely if ever appear on any maintenance list), their benefit is typically lost on high-mileage vehicles, and the inside of the intake manifold suffers. The airflow thru the separator comes from the crankcase, where undesirable vapors have boiled out of the oil. On engines with 2 banks of cylinders (V or flat), the airflow is generally into one valve cover, down thru the oil drainback journals in that head, into the crankcase in the block, up the other drainbacks, & into the 2nd valve cover. On inline engines, the flow is most commonly in one end of the valve cover & out the other, but some have the oil separator on the side of the block near the pan so flow is down from the valve cover to the crankcase. The airstream enters the valve cover either thru a dedicated nipple on the cover, or thru a vented oil filler cap. In either case, the airstream originates with a fresh-air "breather" filter, usually inside the engine air cleaner housing, but sometimes simply mounted directly on a valve cover.
Several failures are common in the PCV system; the most-often noticed is oil contamination in the intake &/or the air filter housing. Oil in the intake generally indicates that the oil separator has become restricted, which might be caused by gelling of the oil from moisture buildup due to insufficient PCV flow because the valve hasn't been changed on-schedule. But infrequent oil changes or overheating, or any combination of these conditions can contribute to oil in the intake. Oil in the air filter housing is almost exclusively caused by reverse-flow in the fresh-air tube, which is often the result of worn/stuck rings, hardened exhaust valve stem seals, or a ruptured head gasket. But it may also result from low-quality oil, incorrect viscosity oil, or excessive oil. An often-overlooked failure in the PCV system is cracking of the hoses, resulting in vacuum leaks & contamination of the engine oil. All vulcanized rubber (tires, hoses, bushings, etc.) ages & deteriorates, so it must be replaced as needed. A symptom that shocks many people is the presence of light-colored foamy oil residue inside the filler cap, or in the valve covers. And while it's possible that this effect can be produced by severe engine damage (like coolant in the crankcase), it's much more likely that it's caused simply by the vehicle being used only for short trips, during which time the engine never fully heats up to boil the water out of the oil. The moisture naturally condenses in the coolest parts of the crankcase, which is the thin upper sheet metal valve covers & filler neck. It may also be noted in the top of the dipstick.
For an IMPORTANT upgrade to Ford smallblock V8s, read this:
http://fordfuelinjection.com/files/Reroute_PVC.pdf 
