2000 ranger, 145k miles, original owner.

Silly question, should I have all my fluids changed in transmission, steering, and brakes? Has never been done,

Have heard horror stories saying if it's gone this long, don't do it now.

 

Transmission....Don't touch it...All the other one can be changed.

 

Transmission, yes, should be done on schedule

Power steering is a judgment call, have a look at color, darker red should be changed, its been over heated

Brake fluid is also a judgment call, brake fluid can absorb moisture from the air, this tends to turn it a darker, almost black, color
Because there is, should be, no contact between brake fluid and air this may never happen, unless there was a past problem
You can open 1 bleeder at a time and let fluid Gravity bleed out of caliper/slave for 30 seconds or so and have a look at its color
Do each wheel
See what YOU think
Top up Master when done


Gravity bleed
Master is higher than the calipers or slaves, when foot is OFF the brake pedal the Master reservoir is open to all 4 wheels, this allows fluid to be replaced as pads and shoes wear out
So when you open a bleeder valve the fluid will run "downhill" from Master and come out the bleeder valve slowly
You can take the cap off the Master to do this but shouldn't need to as the cap is Vented, open to the air via a rubber diaphragm that can expand down
Diaphragm is there to limit direct air contact with fluid in the master

 

Ron, Ops has 145K in the truck Transmission may have missed 5 schedule (30k mile). If its an automatic.

 

It's any auto and most of the miles were recently put on going out to a rural property. Thing sat for a long time waiting to be used as a "downtown service truck".

 

You can't "over service" engine or transmission fluid changes

i.e. changing the oil and filter in the engine every 500 miles will NOT hurt anything, lol, waste of money but won't hurt a thing

When in doubt change it out

Don't forget about coolant, green last 2 years, red/pink 5 years, yellow/gold 5 years
"Lifetime" coolant means lifetime of warranty of vehicle, so different meaning than what most think "lifetime" means, usually 5 to 8 years

Replace coolant with same color, or use yellow/gold if your not sure, NEVER mix green and red

 

If you're concerned a full ATF drain+refill will cause Tranny problems;
can SyphonPump\HandPump 1qt of old ATF from Tranny DipTube & refill with 1qt of fresh MerconV;
do this several times over say several weeks to avoid "shocking" older Tranny with a full drain+refill.