2006 V6 Maintenance Questions

[stl2aus]

2000 V6 Maintenance Questions

I've got 60K on my 2000 V6 Mustang. The only thing besides oil changes I've done is rear brakes, fuel filter replacement (and injector cleaning). I feel pretty lucky.

I brought to the auto mechanic to ID a noise and found out the left side exhaust manifold is cracked and needs replacement. That along with new gasket is going to set me back $450.00. Is that reasonable?

I asked about what preventative maintenance they'd recommend and they are recommending EGR Valve cleaning and new gasket. That's quoted at $200.00. They're also recommending Throttle plate cleaning and something called MotorVac, plus plugs/wires, PCV valve and fuel filter.

I want to avoid costly repairs but don't want to invest heavily as I'm not sure I'll be keeping the car more than another year. I'm not much into auto mechanics and have read the manual. It doesn't seem to recommend the EGR work or MotorVac work. Those are the two that they are recommending first. Most of my mileage is city. Any recommendations on if these prices are reasonable and what is really needed at 60K? Thanks.

 

[TheCrazy1]

Hey... yeah, that sounds kinda expensive to me as well. You could find out what the manifold costs from the dealer, then see if anyone will tell you how many hours that job is supposed to take and add it all up to see if it sounds reasonable. On the egr cleaning... it shouldn't need that at only 60k miles unless the car has been burning oil. You can test the egr valve yourself by attaching a live vaccuum line up to it at idle. The engine should stall. Another thing that happens is an engine code comes up for insufficent egr flow, this is usually caused by a faulty pdfe sensor which is easy to replace and only costs about 30 bucks from the dealer. I think you're better off getting a couple more opinions on the repairs and the egr cleaning doesn't sound like it's needed. Hope it goes well for ya!

 

[silver_sn95_v6]

The reason they reccommended those first is because theyre the easiest to do by far. They were thinking profit. I think you've been had slightly. Good job not taking. I put in 2 years at goodyear. Throttle plate cleaning is easy, i do it every 3rd oil change. Just take off the air cleaner assembly and hose and while keeping the revs slightly elevated and spray throttle body cleaner in there. All that preventative maintenance can be done with about the skill level of and opil change. I am going to be doing a pictorial how to for alot of this stuff very soon, so if you want help, let me know and i can talk you through pretty much any work you'll need to do. Dont worry about the EGR, ytou wont need cleaning, when it goes, it will go. You're WAY under the service interval for that stuff right now. Oil changes every 3,000 and an air filter every 10 will keep you running. I am at 110,000 and havent had a problem at all.

 

[TMX]

$450 for 1 exhaust manifold? 2 shorty headers are only $230. Sure install is a pain, but if one is $115 the install would have to be $335, and you could probably get a shop to install them cheaper than that.

But this thread is 2 and a half months old, he may have already done something.

 

[silver_sn95_v6]

oops, guess i should look at dates