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Ok, first off, I'm going to sound like an idiot to you guys, but please understand that I am a young male who knows next to nothing about cars.  

I've had my '98 Ranger for a couple years, and usually a family member took it in to get the oil changed for me.  Today I took it in myself to Jiffy Lube and I found out that there are apparently a bunch of other problems with the truck.  The guy explained the different problems, but, me being someone that knows little about cars, I found it hard to follow along and even harder to remember what all he he said.  Also, I really only had enough money for the oil change at the time at the so I declined the other repairs.  I'm just going to run down the stuff that is listed on the invoice as needing service:

Lubricate Chassis - PLUGS
Transmission/Transaction fluid level - REC REPL
Differential fluid level - REC REPL
Front Differential - REC REPL
Transfer Case - REC REPL

In service comments, it says:

Radiator Full of freezing pt
Minor oil leak
oil pan gasket leak
frame drip

I don't want to neglect these repairs, but I also don't have alot of money to spend.  Should I take it in somewhere else and get a second opinion?  Which of these repairs is likely most urgent, and about how much should each cost?  If someone could help me out with this I would be eternally grateful.  

Ok First of all any 1998 anything is going to have a slight leak from the

oil pan, transmission pan, and differential. These are all common as older

cars weep a little fluid from old gaskets. Unless you are having to add

oil/transmission fluid every other day or there is big puddles of oil in

your driveway this is nothing to be concerned about. This is how these

cheap oil change places make money. They scare people who do not

understand what is normal for older cars in to having things fixed. As far

as having the transmission fluid and differential oil changed read your

owners manual. most say to have it done anywhere from 30 to 60 thousand

miles. Also you are better off to take your car to a dealer for oil changes

and regular upkeep as the quick change places use the cheapest oil and

filters that they can buy and can actually reduce your engine life.  

This ai a good example of why you should never get anything done on your car for at least 24 hours after you have suddenly been told that the nice car you drove in with is in actuality a ticking time bomb of disaster.
   Many of these "chain" outfits are famous for this sort of stuff. And a lot of the other repair places also.
Never get this stuff done the first time. Wait,ask around,ask your friends,ask a stranger,but do not put out the money so fast. Just get out of there fast. Don't let them change the oil,,,they may break something.!!!!  

It is really sad to say this but even some Dealers are getting in on this . They like to change every fluid and oil ,  even get into flushing the brake fluid.  And I have noticed they only carry on stock one type of trans fluid also.  A colorless cheap fluid that will harden lip in the clutch drums,  and it doesn't make a difference what year model or type of trans you have ,And weather it take Dextron 3 -4 - 5 or 6, Mercron 4 -5 -  6, Mopar 4 or 5 , you are getting the type of fluid they have.  

Yeah I was surprised to hear about all of this since I hadn't heard about any of when the oil was changed previously, so that made be a bit wary.  I've read  up on changing the radiator coolant and that seems easy enough, so I'll do that myself.  Also, if its not too difficult, I plan on checking the transmission fluid and the differential fluid myself to see if they need changed.  I bought the vehicle used and have put about 30,000 miles onto it  myself so it may very well need changed.  Do car dealerships change all the  fluids and everything when someone trades a vehicle in?  Because if I remember right the guy said that the transmission fluid looked like it had never been changed.  

If I do need to have the transmission and diff. fluid changed, would it be too difficult to do it myself?  I've heard that places charge you like  $100 to have the transmission fluid changed so I'd like to do it myself if I can.  But I don't have a lot of tools or car knowledge, so if its too difficult to do from just reading instructions on the internet then I'll have to pass.

Also, the day after taking it in I was driving a long distance to another town and my 4WD stopped working temporarily, and the 4WD lights would blink on the dash for a few moments every once in awhile.  Then later on the way back it started working again, then again later I tried to switch into it, heard a loud noise, and then it again would not work and the lights were blinking.  That was a couple days ago and since then its been working fine.  Could this be the transfer case going bad?  Would it help at all to replace the fluid?

And what about the front differential?  What will happen if it is going bad and I don't have it replaced?  Will it have a negative effect on other parts of the vehicle?  Should I take my truck in somewhere else and have them look at it?  From what I understand, replacing the front differential or transfer case will be pretty expensive, so I'd like to avoid it unless I absolutely have to.

Thank you for your time guys.  

Don't let your mind start running all kinds of rampant thoughts just because some guy in Jiffylube said anything.
    Go somewhere and get your oil and filter changed,,,nothing else. If you look at the new filter later and it says FRAM,,,,,don't bother going back there again.
Check you own transmission fluid. Start the car in park,,,let it warm up,,,keep it running and check the trans fluid level with the dip stick. If it is close t he fulll level then you are o.k.xxxxx Look at the color of the fluid. Brand new out of the bolttle the fluid is red. If your is dark red--its ok. If it is brown then you should change it.
    Heres the thing with trans fluid and changing it. Different cars use different brands and they are not interchangeable. You have to replace the right one or the trans will not be the same and could (will) harm it. Let us know what you find and we will discuss it further.
    The car is a four wheel drive. I dont like the dam things unless I live in the mountains or in the desert where theres no roads, otherwise they are a pain in xx xxxx.
Make sure all four tires are the same brand,,,make sure all four tires have the same tire pressure. For 4wheel drives to last any length of time all the tires have to be clones.
Let us know. For now keep the 4 wheel feature off.  

I checked the trans fluid.  Seems okay for now I guess...its darkish red.  When I do need to change it, do you think I could do it myself or is it a difficult job?  If so, where should I take it?

As for 4WD, I do have to use it sometimes because I live in an area that gets quite a bit of snow and my tires are pretty worn.  I need to get new ones.  Since that day that I said it stopped working temporarily, it's been working fine.  So I don't know what that was all about.  

First all those rec. repl. are just recommendations, it's up to you whether you want to change them or not but all they are saying is that the fluid is worn out and needs to be changed.  This is part of regular routine maintenance.  That is a service that can usually be done for less than $40 per gearbox.  The part about lubricating the chassis is simply saying that in place of grease fittings(zerks) you have plugs, which means they can't grease them.  So they are just letting you know that they didn't grease it.  As far as a minor oil pan gasket leak if you have never had the oil pan gasket replaced it is probably time to get it done, no gasket lasts forever.  Although not part of normal routine maintenance nevertheless these things will have to be replaced every so often.  Frame drip simply means that when they were draining the oil or removing the filter some of it drained on to or into the frame which may cause you to have an oil drip for a day or two after the oil change.  They just put that there so you are aware and don't come back screaming "YOU LEFT MY DRAIN PLUG OUT!!!"
So all in all that vehicle actually got a pretty clean report.  

ya ya what he said lol  
RubenGirona

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