Oil Change interval

[Marcus22]

Hopefully he prevails and was checking levels/adding oil as needed (and most importantly has receipts/proof). What was the level of excessive oil consumption he was experiencing?

Sounds like he showed proof with receipts and then they agreed to warrenty. I don’t know the miles on the oil but when he first found it low it was 2.8qrt low on a 5qrt system.

Who knows if the motor is a poor design or the 10,000 mile oil change did it. All I know is that it didnt help. I plan on keeping my explorer for a while so that’s why I am reserved in trusting the IOLM. I will spend a little to get a couple oil samples done and sleep well at night.

 

[Halwg]

Change at 5,000 miles and never worry about it.

 

[Sgt1411]

Hopefully he prevails and was checking levels/adding oil as needed (and most importantly has receipts/proof). What was the level of excessive oil consumption he was experiencing?

Just an FYI from the manufacturers perspective - "The often accepted rate of oil consumption for today’s engines (passenger cars and l/d trucks under 8,500 GVW) can be in the range of 1 quart within 2,000 miles on a properly driven and maintained vehicle."
https://www.gmfleet.com/content/dam...s/PDFs/gmc1-12-03142-264-engine-oil-check.pdf

I don't have a direct link to a current Ford document, but I've seen some older Ford Fleet references that said 1 quart within 1,500 miles is acceptable for normal/retail use, with fleet/police service potentially seeing higher oil consumption.

Some other manufacturers say as much as 1 quart of oil consumption per 500-1K miles is acceptable.

Whatever oil change interval you want to run, check your oil level regularly between changes.

Given the tolerances of today's engines and how well they are built does that not seem excessive to anyone else but me?

The piston moves up and down the cylinder, with rings that have very tight tolerances, I just can't see that much oil getting left behind and then burned in combustion.

 

[KayGee]

Sounds like he showed proof with receipts and then they agreed to warrenty. I don’t know the miles on the oil but when he first found it low it was 2.8qrt low on a 5qrt system.

Who knows if the motor is a poor design or the 10,000 mile oil change did it. All I know is that it didnt help. I plan on keeping my explorer for a while so that’s why I am reserved in trusting the IOLM. I will spend a little to get a couple oil samples done and sleep well at night.

Without knowing what the oil consumption was (quarts/miles) and whether the oil levels were checked regularly, it's hard to know if the motor was problematic or the 10,000 mile interval is too long without regularly checking oil levels and adding oil between changes.

Both of the MBs I had were 10K OCI, but I still had to add about a quart or two of oil between changes. I've never really had any vehicles that consumed more than a quart of oil every 4-5K miles. I made it a habit a long time ago to check my oil levels every month though and top off as necessary.

 

[Sixonemale]

Change at 5,000 miles and never worry about it.

Completely agree, especially if you have turbos. It's also a very small price to pay for peace of mind.

Just an FYI from the manufacturers perspective - "The often accepted rate of oil consumption for today’s engines (passenger cars and l/d trucks under 8,500 GVW) can be in the range of 1 quart within 2,000 miles on a properly driven and maintained vehicle."
https://www.gmfleet.com/content/dam...s/PDFs/gmc1-12-03142-264-engine-oil-check.pdf

I don't have a direct link to a current Ford document, but I've seen some older Ford Fleet references that said 1 quart within 1,500 miles is acceptable for normal/retail use, with fleet/police service potentially seeing higher oil consumption.

Some other manufacturers say as much as 1 quart of oil consumption per 500-1K miles is acceptable.

Given the tolerances of today's engines and how well they are built does that not seem excessive to anyone else but me?

The piston moves up and down the cylinder, with rings that have very tight tolerances, I just can't see that much oil getting left behind and then burned in combustion.

Completely agree.

 

[peterk9]

Change at 5,000 miles and never worry about it.

In my case that would be about 1.5 years of driving and 3 six month oil changes.

Peter

 

[CDW6212R]

Oil life is not as simple as a mileage figure, or what some computer tells you to do. The quality of oil is very important, but the driving conditions are more important. The typical filter isn't good enough to go 10k, and 7500 is pushing it with cheap stuff.

Modern oils are way better than old 30 year old standards, that's great for today's cars and people who don't know what to get. It's hard to go wrong with most any oils now. But filter quality is still a key factor, cheap filters are still bad for any engine. That's why some manufacturers require their own filter etc.

For long oil change intervals, consider that 90%+ of oil contamination comes through the air filter. Bad air filters or poor cleaning units like K&N, those let way too much dirt past, and the oil is thus, always black. A bad air filter will have fresh oil turn black in a day or less. Buy the best air filter you can get, that's more important than the oil.

I use full synthetic in all of my many many Fords, but I choose between the cheapest at Walmart($22 for Valvoline etc), and Amsoil($5 to $9 per quart), based on the engines needs and life expectancy. I still yet don't use the best Amsoil because my engines are all not quite worthy. My work truck SOHC 4.0 will get the best Amsoil soon, which I've run 9k mile before, and the oil was transparent at that mileage. I'm replacing the timing chain parts in it again(trans is out), so this time I'm installing two external filters. Research Bypass filter, those clean far better than normal filters, down to 2-3 microns, versus 15-20 for normal filters. With that and a large 1.5 quart external filter, I'll need close to seven quarts of oil. I like the extra capacity for this work truck, and the Amsoil Signature series can go one year or 15-25k miles. I will like that much more than changing oil once every six weeks or so as I do now(my 98 302 truck). That will be much cheaper and more convenient. I'll do the fluid change every Spring. Seven quarts of oil and one filter will run about $80 with shipping and tax here, for just once a year it's great. The bypass filters are good for a couple of years, and those run about $35 or so each. That's what all tractor trailers use, and those engines last 500k miles before rebuilds.

 

[KayGee]

Oil life is not as simple as a mileage figure, or what some computer tells you to do. The quality of oil is very important, but the driving conditions are more important. The typical filter isn't good enough to go 10k, and 7500 is pushing it with cheap stuff.

Modern oils are way better than old 30 year old standards, that's great for today's cars and people who don't know what to get. It's hard to go wrong with most any oils now. But filter quality is still a key factor, cheap filters are still bad for any engine. That's why some manufacturers require their own filter etc.

For long oil change intervals, consider that 90%+ of oil contamination comes through the air filter. Bad air filters or poor cleaning units like K&N, those let way too much dirt past, and the oil is thus, always black. A bad air filter will have fresh oil turn black in a day or less. Buy the best air filter you can get, that's more important than the oil.

I use full synthetic in all of my many many Fords, but I choose between the cheapest at Walmart($22 for Valvoline etc), and Amsoil($5 to $9 per quart), based on the engines needs and life expectancy. I still yet don't use the best Amsoil because my engines are all not quite worthy. My work truck SOHC 4.0 will get the best Amsoil soon, which I've run 9k mile before, and the oil was transparent at that mileage. I'm replacing the timing chain parts in it again(trans is out), so this time I'm installing two external filters. Research Bypass filter, those clean far better than normal filters, down to 2-3 microns, versus 15-20 for normal filters. With that and a large 1.5 quart external filter, I'll need close to seven quarts of oil. I like the extra capacity for this work truck, and the Amsoil Signature series can go one year or 15-25k miles. I will like that much more than changing oil once every six weeks or so as I do now(my 98 302 truck). That will be much cheaper and more convenient. I'll do the fluid change every Spring. Seven quarts of oil and one filter will run about $80 with shipping and tax here, for just once a year it's great. The bypass filters are good for a couple of years, and those run about $35 or so each. That's what all tractor trailers use, and those engines last 500k miles before rebuilds.

OTR trucks that spend an extended amount of time at highway speeds tend to benefit from bypass filters whereas trucks that don't, generally don't benefit much (or at all) from a bypass filter (just an added cost and weight penalty vs using a quality extended life filter). There is no magic/silver bullet...

 

[CDW6212R]

I have not seen oil analysis results from oil run through a bypass filter, versus a common 15-20 micron filter.

But I have zero doubt that super clean oil with a bypass filer will result in way less engine wear. It is not a silver bullet, but the countless examples of poor maintenance by owners tells me it is worth it.

My "new" 98 Explorer with a 302 was abused greatly. It uses about a quart of oil per month. That may or may not be from low quality oil, or oil run 10k miles often. But I know it's due to the previous owner, the person responsible for taking care of it. It's annoying to have to check the oil weekly, knowing it's eating it. My "old" 98 Mountaineer uses no oil between changes, and it's got 208k on it now. I got it at 98k, and have taken great care of it. The PO did too, thus it doesn't use oil.

How many countless SOHC 4.0 owners are there who would say the timing chain issue is bothersome etc? That problem is exaggerated from poor maintenance. Mine has been little trouble ..., but that's because I did the chain/tensioner work when I bought it at 77,450 miles, and am again doing it at 152k miles. This one has never rattled. But I'm not going to assume that a simple 5k oil change, or 7.5k, or 10k, and good oil, is enough.

I want the best products possible, I do not skimp because a book says to, or a random person or consensus says it's okay. I want my vehicles to be like new, outside, and inside(the engine), if I can help that. Thus I do, and the bypass filter is wise, not a magic/silver bullet...

 

[Sgt1411]

Oil life is not as simple as a mileage figure, or what some computer tells you to do. The quality of oil is very important, but the driving conditions are more important. The typical filter isn't good enough to go 10k, and 7500 is pushing it with cheap stuff.

Modern oils are way better than old 30 year old standards, that's great for today's cars and people who don't know what to get. It's hard to go wrong with most any oils now. But filter quality is still a key factor, cheap filters are still bad for any engine. That's why some manufacturers require their own filter etc.

For long oil change intervals, consider that 90%+ of oil contamination comes through the air filter. Bad air filters or poor cleaning units like K&N, those let way too much dirt past, and the oil is thus, always black. A bad air filter will have fresh oil turn black in a day or less. Buy the best air filter you can get, that's more important than the oil.

I use full synthetic in all of my many many Fords, but I choose between the cheapest at Walmart($22 for Valvoline etc), and Amsoil($5 to $9 per quart), based on the engines needs and life expectancy. I still yet don't use the best Amsoil because my engines are all not quite worthy. My work truck SOHC 4.0 will get the best Amsoil soon, which I've run 9k mile before, and the oil was transparent at that mileage. I'm replacing the timing chain parts in it again(trans is out), so this time I'm installing two external filters. Research Bypass filter, those clean far better than normal filters, down to 2-3 microns, versus 15-20 for normal filters. With that and a large 1.5 quart external filter, I'll need close to seven quarts of oil. I like the extra capacity for this work truck, and the Amsoil Signature series can go one year or 15-25k miles. I will like that much more than changing oil once every six weeks or so as I do now(my 98 302 truck). That will be much cheaper and more convenient. I'll do the fluid change every Spring. Seven quarts of oil and one filter will run about $80 with shipping and tax here, for just once a year it's great. The bypass filters are good for a couple of years, and those run about $35 or so each. That's what all tractor trailers use, and those engines last 500k miles before rebuilds.

All very valid points for a vehicle engineered in 1998 with an engine designed and built in 1998.

Two decades later the engineering and technology that goes into engine design is probably better, so are the lubricants that the OEM puts in them.

To each their own, but I don't think for a minute I'm smarter than the men and women who design and engineer any vehicle built in 2018.

 

[CDW6212R]

The many turbo charged engines out now make huge HP/CI versus other engines. I don't think the higher stress is yet known, the long term affects on engine wear, cylinders, pistons, valve seats etc.

I would not run oil for 10k given the young age of these engines. I'd be cautious and limit mileage between oil changes. More money spent on that is better than hoping the manuals and engineers are right. How many Ford lessons have we owners learned on behalf of Ford. If pushing the intervals on those "modern" engines, be smarter and test the used oil regularly. That doesn't guarantee great wear of the main engine parts, but it's a good indicator.

Just from curiosity, what's the change interval for the new Ford GT?

 

[Sgt1411]

January 25th new info from Valvoline on their latest full synthetic oil products

Valvoline Introduces New Modern Engine Full Synthetic Motor Oil

 

[fyrfyter612]

So my new 2015 Sport is the first EcoBoost engine I have owned. In my old 2013 XLT I had the 3.5 NA V-6. In that vehicle I was running Mobil 1 Extended Performance oil with Motorcraft filter and would change it every time the oil life monitor told me to. On the EcoBoost I now have I immediately changed the oil to Mobil 1 Annual Protection with Mobil 1 Extended Performance filter. Even though they say the Annual Protection oil is good for a year I still plan on changing it every time the oil life monitor tells me to. How often do those of you with the EcoBoost engines go between changes and what oil you running? And does anyone know what the average time/mileage the oil life monitor typically recommends changing it? I'm guessing it takes numerous things into effect when determining when to recommend changing it.

 

[blwnsmoke]

Use the Oil Life Monitor, done.

 

[Mbrooks420]

He said he was planning to and had other questions........

 

[blwnsmoke]

He said he was planning to and had other questions........

You are right but when he asked about what others are doing as far as when they are changing it, my post still applies. Anyone doing it earlier is doin g it because of "cheap insurance" or being "old school". So my post is still relevant in regards to that.

 

[Mbrooks420]

Sometimes you get lucky.

 

[Odrapnew]

Change: when OLM hits about 15-20%.
Average Interval: 7500-8500 miles.
Oil: Whatever's on sale at Walmart..usually Mobile 1 or Pennzoil Platinum
Oil analysis still shows that I could go another 2000-3000 miles before changes.
In before this gets moved to the other oil thread.

 

[peterk9]

bump

 

[KayGee]

You are right but when he asked about what others are doing as far as when they are changing it, my post still applies. Anyone doing it earlier is doin g it because of "cheap insurance" or being "old school". So my post is still relevant in regards to that.

I have 5-7 vehicles to maintain at any given time and do almost all of my own maintenance. At $20 or less per oil change, my primary reason is convenience.

I try to change the oil in my vehicles just before winter, even if they don't necessarily need it as I don't like to change oil during the winter/cold months. If I must change oil in a vehicle in the winter/cold months, I try to change it when there is a break from the cold weather (like an unseasonably warm couple of days). Sometimes I will change several vehicles the same day so I can get them all done at once. If I know I'm going on a several thousand mile road trip, I may choose to change the oil early so I don't have to do it during the trip or immediately upon my return.