what kind of routine maintenance should i be preforming on my 1985 ford e150 conversion van
I recently bought a 1985 e150 with 50,000 original miles that i believe to be
in almost mint condition (very minimal body damage, everything except ac
and cruise seem to work). I took it in to get inspected since i live in nys and
the mechanic was impressed with the condition stating that the brake lines
were even replaced and they couldnt find any faults. I was just wondering
what kind of maintenance i should keep up on since i have fallen in love
with the van. I live in nys so rust is a big issue here. it was recently
undercoated with oil which ive heard helps keep rust away immensely but
are there any other tricks to keeping rust off of your vehicle? and how often
should i get the bottom undercoated? would taking it through a car wash
wash off some of the oil? sorry for the paragraph, thank you for your time.
Hey I also got a low mileage 1985 E-150 conversion van with 75 K miles,I went thru all the brakes,as it being 30 years old it is very important to do this,if you cannot do it take it to an older mechanic.also change the fluids in the cooling system and the automatic transmission.Check all the drive belts carefully too,would recommend putting all new ones on there should be about four(4) of them. Remember this van is 35 years old and any cloth type component will not be very good.Are the tires good? no dry rot?Good spare?
Living in new York state they already went through the brakes when I got it inspected. The previous owner did all of the stuff to get it up to code. He replaced the brake lines, tires (including spare) and even replaced the battery and the connectors. I just was wondering if there's anything else I should be doing to it besides oil changes and checking transmission fluid. P.s. your van looks awesome. I wish I could figure out how to post a picture of mine
Honestly if your that worried about under carriage rust you could do what I did to my 03 trailblazer ext 2 years ago but it is kinda pricey.Go get the flat black rust conformer and use it as a undercoat and then flat clear it.This not obly prevents new rust but encapsulates the exsisting rust and turns it to a carbonized metal with no way for oxygen molecules to penetrate the pourous and ferrous metals that are under your ride.Two years later not a speck of rust below but everything above the lower belt line was eaten and I sent it to salvage.Key word here,if you canafford it coat everything with at least 3 layers completely to stop the currwnt rusting and then you can startusing eitger gloss black or a satin black to match OEM And hit it with satin or flat clear and you'll be good for at least two years but I'd say if you do it like I said it may very well outlivey ou lmao.Just a friendly shade tree wannabe about to build up a custom one off1993 Mark 3 E150 5.0 and a 2wd pull monster to be an award winning show stopper lol!
