blkZ28spt

Oh I'm not suggestion OP dive in with flushing his brake fluid. Just saying that in general I think it's a good idea to have that done more often than 100,000 miles. Spark plugs on these engines too (that one is easy). But I'm more of a, refer to the manual for the minimum interval and correct replacement fluid/park specs kind of guy than a 'if manual says it doesn't need done yet, it's not getting done yet' kind of guy. Ounce of prevention and all that

Napalm

I don't recommend that he start by flushing the brakes but at 100K miles and over 3 years old it needs to be done. And it's not a manual recommended thing for reasons I don't know.

Meanwhile the manual does state you should flush (exchange) your transmission and differential fluids at or over 100K miles. hence why I mentioned it.

100K is also time to replace spark plugs too and yes conventional wisdom on the ecoboost engines is often to replace then a bit early of 100K.

But whatever. Most people seem to be against using the OLM for Oil changes but will wait forever to exchange transmission fluid.

again ot the OP good luck - prepare to invest is some tools if you don't have things. LIke I mentioned quality 3 ton or higher jack and jack stands is a need to have. And I will admit the harbof freight ones are decent however I got my last jack from Northern Tool.

Craigster59

Good on you to want to do some of your own maintenance. It's actually very satisfying and you know the job will be done right (hopefully). I'm on my second 2016 F150 with 3.5 Ecoboost. The first was totaled last Christmas in a rear end collision after only 6 months of ownership but I found an exact match in Phoenix Az.

An example of doing your own maintenance, the first truck I bought used from a Ford dealer in Valencia Ca. It had 27k on the clock and had just had the front brakes done by the dealership. I went to have new tires mounted (BFG KO2's) and me and my tire guy noticed the passenger side rotor was scored pretty bad. I decided to do the brakes again and saw on YouTube that F150 pads are designed with an inside pad and outside pad. The tech at the dealership installed both inside pads on one wheel and both outside pads on the other. This caused the nasty scoring that made the rotor unusable and needing to be replaced. Some of these guys have no business turning wrenches.

Another situation that popped up this weekend was my engine was stumbling and the CEL came on. After pulling the codes it came up as "0305 misfire on cylinder 5". After some research I found out that the recommendation of a spark plug change at 100k is BS on Ecoboost engines, I don't know why Ford doesn't change it to 30-40k. I have 53k on this truck and the plugs were bad, no where near the .030 gap that is recommended. Changed them out to new Motorcraft SP580's on Sunday and she purrs like a kitten and I also gained 3 MPG!

Don't be intimidated, there is so much information to be obtained from forums like this one and YouTube that you should be feeling like Mr. Goodwrench in no time! BTW, the plug access on the 3.5 EB makes plug changes a snap!

stubborn hook

In addition to the above:
Shocks are probably pretty worn by now.
Serpentine belt might be ready for replacement along with the tired belt tensioner pulley
Coolant flush / replacement
Differential lube replacement
Check condition of hoses, heater hoses, little vacuum hoses, throttle body hoses
Check wheel bearings for play/noise, play in steering components, ball joints

kbroderick

I'm not sure that second statement holds true, especially for new mechanics. My experience is admittedly a bit flavored by having spent a lot of time in the past wrenching on high-mileage New England vehicles, but every time you perform any maintenance (or upgrade), there's an opportunity to screw things up. That can be as simple as breaking a plastic clip pulling an interior panel, or getting distracted and rounding off a bolt head somewhere, etc. It can also be something like another posted mentioned the dealership did (both inside pads on one wheel, both outsides on the other), or being dumb and reconnecting the battery positive after the negative and grounding out the wrench as you tighten the nut (that was a memorable one even though it didn't result in any permanent damage save a scorch mark on the wrench). I may have gotten better about doing straight-up stupid stuff less often, but there are still times where the only way to move forward is to see if a bolt will move and then deal with it if it breaks.

The great thing now is that you can find YouTube videos of almost anything, and the often show things that the service manuals fail to mention (even if the narrator skips discussing them). You also have the advantage of watching the whole process before beginning and making sure that you have all the tools and shop supplies you need, plus that your vehicle's configuration actually matches that pictured. Take things step-by-step, and be willing to step back and think when you need to.