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I have seen this a few different times on the forum and wanted to give you Ford's position on "flushes" as well as my opinion on them being in this business for over two decades and as a former technician.
What is a "flush"? It depends on the context it's used. Flush and change are sometimes used interchangeably like, "your transmission fluid needs to be flushed", "your cooling system needs to be flushed", or "your brake fluid needs to be flushed". The intervals for these three fluid services are in your bronco owners manual and have specific mileage or time ranges depending on if you're going by the normal or special operating condition path in your manual.
Since transmissions do not have drain plugs on the converters, dropping the pan will only get you about 1/3 of the fluid changed which isn't worth the time doing which is why most places us a flushing machine. It hooks up to the transmission cooler lines, the tech will put 12-14 quarts of new fluid into one tank which will then be pumped into the transmission, via the transmissions pump, while old fluid is being pumped out. In this case, the only thing going in or out is transmission fluid, no chemicals. There are a bunch of companies that spiff service managers and techs to use a flush product (bottle of snake oil) that is supposed to protect and clean the transmissions guts better than just fluid alone. Whatever.
They also make a machine to flush cooling systems that works the same way but IMO, the only good way to flush a cooling system is to pull hoses and back flush using the good ole garden hose. If you don't do it this way, how do you forward or back flush the heater core, radiator, trans cooler, overflow bottle or block. Again, no "special" chemicals or additives needed. Less is more.
A brake fluid flush is the same, old fluid out, new in. Ford didn't start adding these to normal vehicles until the last couple of years, Toyota and others have been doing it forever.
The big one I've seen lately is the intake "flush". There is no where in the workshop manual or owners manual that even vaguely mentions this unless there is a very specific problem that develops that or part of a directed repair. These "flushes" are, IMO, snake oil, overpriced, not needed but are a big money maker for the dealer, advisor or tech recommending them. It usually involves dumping a bottle of something in the tank to "clean the injectors and lines" as well as a foam/fog/liquid that's sucked in through a vacuum like on the intake.
Back in the day when we suspected carbon on the pistons or some other crap, we'd use Ford carb cleaner or Seafoam to try to get rid of spark knock as a near last resort. Modern engines using quality gasoline do not have these issues so this hasn't been a thing since the '90's. While these "flushes" may not be detrimental to the vehicle, I've not seen any evidence that it has any near or long term benefits beside service department profitability.
The narrow scope for chemical or flushes. The only two chemicals we've used in any capacity are Wynn's torque converter shudder guard or Chevron Techron. Shudder guard was mainly used for vehicles that were pre Mercon V and had a bad shudder, chatter from the torque converter due to lack of maintenance. We would change fluid and dump a bottle in as a last resort prior to yanking the trans. It worked about 50% of the time and heavily dependent on if it was caught early or was in the later stages before total failure. Chevron Techron was dumped in fuel tanks, also a last resort option when fuel gauges started messing up. This was usually due to fuel that had high too much sulphur which would bind to the rheostat on the sending unit resulting in a bad reading. Again, a couple tanks of "good" fuel and couple of bottles of Techron and it either fixed it or the tank was coming out and new sending unit going in.
We've had all the BG, Wynn's and other sales people in to demonstrate their stuff so it's not like I'm coming from a place of ignorance. Even with the direct pay "incentive" from the BG guy, my techs didn't want anything to do with them. They don't believe in them, I don't believe in them and sure as hell won't look one of my customers in the eyes and lie to them. Nope, ain't gonna do it.
I'm not going to crap on the dealer's that bought into this scam but they know better and have seen what Ford's position is on this matter. If you're an owner and feel there's a benefit to doing them or have done in the past, that's your call. My point is to put some info out there for everyone that's getting hit up in the service drive and wondering why they're wanting you to spend $199.00+ for something not on Ford's maintenance list. Ultimately you have to decide if there's value in the product or service and you trust the person that's telling you that it's "needed" or "due". There are a lot of dealers and independents that push these services but IMO, it's just an upsell scam. Not that they aren't doing the work or using the product, it's just not something required to keep your vehicle running correctly. Am I against dumping in a bottle of Techron in your tank once a year, no. Do I think it's necessary? No.
For those that want to stick to OE recommendations, I've attached Ford's position statement on flushes and non approved additives or chemicals. I hope by reading this you feel better informed when you, your spouse, child or family member is having service performed and is hit up about needing a "flush" or "cleaning". If it's not in the book and you don't have a specific running issues a flush/cleaning will fix, it's probably not needed.
What is a "flush"? It depends on the context it's used. Flush and change are sometimes used interchangeably like, "your transmission fluid needs to be flushed", "your cooling system needs to be flushed", or "your brake fluid needs to be flushed". The intervals for these three fluid services are in your bronco owners manual and have specific mileage or time ranges depending on if you're going by the normal or special operating condition path in your manual.
Since transmissions do not have drain plugs on the converters, dropping the pan will only get you about 1/3 of the fluid changed which isn't worth the time doing which is why most places us a flushing machine. It hooks up to the transmission cooler lines, the tech will put 12-14 quarts of new fluid into one tank which will then be pumped into the transmission, via the transmissions pump, while old fluid is being pumped out. In this case, the only thing going in or out is transmission fluid, no chemicals. There are a bunch of companies that spiff service managers and techs to use a flush product (bottle of snake oil) that is supposed to protect and clean the transmissions guts better than just fluid alone. Whatever.
They also make a machine to flush cooling systems that works the same way but IMO, the only good way to flush a cooling system is to pull hoses and back flush using the good ole garden hose. If you don't do it this way, how do you forward or back flush the heater core, radiator, trans cooler, overflow bottle or block. Again, no "special" chemicals or additives needed. Less is more.
A brake fluid flush is the same, old fluid out, new in. Ford didn't start adding these to normal vehicles until the last couple of years, Toyota and others have been doing it forever.
The big one I've seen lately is the intake "flush". There is no where in the workshop manual or owners manual that even vaguely mentions this unless there is a very specific problem that develops that or part of a directed repair. These "flushes" are, IMO, snake oil, overpriced, not needed but are a big money maker for the dealer, advisor or tech recommending them. It usually involves dumping a bottle of something in the tank to "clean the injectors and lines" as well as a foam/fog/liquid that's sucked in through a vacuum like on the intake.
Back in the day when we suspected carbon on the pistons or some other crap, we'd use Ford carb cleaner or Seafoam to try to get rid of spark knock as a near last resort. Modern engines using quality gasoline do not have these issues so this hasn't been a thing since the '90's. While these "flushes" may not be detrimental to the vehicle, I've not seen any evidence that it has any near or long term benefits beside service department profitability.
The narrow scope for chemical or flushes. The only two chemicals we've used in any capacity are Wynn's torque converter shudder guard or Chevron Techron. Shudder guard was mainly used for vehicles that were pre Mercon V and had a bad shudder, chatter from the torque converter due to lack of maintenance. We would change fluid and dump a bottle in as a last resort prior to yanking the trans. It worked about 50% of the time and heavily dependent on if it was caught early or was in the later stages before total failure. Chevron Techron was dumped in fuel tanks, also a last resort option when fuel gauges started messing up. This was usually due to fuel that had high too much sulphur which would bind to the rheostat on the sending unit resulting in a bad reading. Again, a couple tanks of "good" fuel and couple of bottles of Techron and it either fixed it or the tank was coming out and new sending unit going in.
We've had all the BG, Wynn's and other sales people in to demonstrate their stuff so it's not like I'm coming from a place of ignorance. Even with the direct pay "incentive" from the BG guy, my techs didn't want anything to do with them. They don't believe in them, I don't believe in them and sure as hell won't look one of my customers in the eyes and lie to them. Nope, ain't gonna do it.
I'm not going to crap on the dealer's that bought into this scam but they know better and have seen what Ford's position is on this matter. If you're an owner and feel there's a benefit to doing them or have done in the past, that's your call. My point is to put some info out there for everyone that's getting hit up in the service drive and wondering why they're wanting you to spend $199.00+ for something not on Ford's maintenance list. Ultimately you have to decide if there's value in the product or service and you trust the person that's telling you that it's "needed" or "due". There are a lot of dealers and independents that push these services but IMO, it's just an upsell scam. Not that they aren't doing the work or using the product, it's just not something required to keep your vehicle running correctly. Am I against dumping in a bottle of Techron in your tank once a year, no. Do I think it's necessary? No.
For those that want to stick to OE recommendations, I've attached Ford's position statement on flushes and non approved additives or chemicals. I hope by reading this you feel better informed when you, your spouse, child or family member is having service performed and is hit up about needing a "flush" or "cleaning". If it's not in the book and you don't have a specific running issues a flush/cleaning will fix, it's probably not needed.
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