First oil change advice

[dejen3303]

All the talk about oil with a single mention of filter.
The biggest issue with oil is the filter will be done before the oil is. Do an oil sample to a lab like blackstone. They'll tell you if you can go longer between intervals. Most filters are done by 3500 miles then they bypass the check valve. Which means your running unfiltered oil.

Ford says that you don't have to change the oil for break in purposes. Sure if you like buying new cars often. Getting the break in oil out removes all the micro pieces of metal that wore off in the initial start up. The more it stays the more it creates.
I changed the oil out 4 times before 1500 miles. Then took it in for the 5k oil change the dealership wanted to do it at.
Some of my performance cars that I've sent oil in after they reached 10k had metal specs of and engine with 3 times the milage. For performance it makes a difference in horse power.

Ford uses their synthetic blend oil which is good for about 5k-6k milage wise.

Good luck

"The biggest issue with oil is the filter will be done before the oil is." "Most filters are done by 3500 miles then they bypass the check valve."
I'd like to see a study or a paper on that. In all of my 40 years in the business of servicing and repairing mobile equipment, the school of thought is that the majority of contaminants (aside from catastrophic failure) stay suspended in the oil. That is why we send in samples of the oil and not the filter.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

All the talk about oil with a single mention of filter.
The biggest issue with oil is the filter will be done before the oil is. Do an oil sample to a lab like blackstone. They'll tell you if you can go longer between intervals. Most filters are done by 3500 miles then they bypass the check valve. Which means your running unfiltered oil.

Ford says that you don't have to change the oil for break in purposes. Sure if you like buying new cars often. Getting the break in oil out removes all the micro pieces of metal that wore off in the initial start up. The more it stays the more it creates.
I changed the oil out 4 times before 1500 miles. Then took it in for the 5k oil change the dealership wanted to do it at.
Some of my performance cars that I've sent oil in after they reached 10k had metal specs of and engine with 3 times the milage. For performance it makes a difference in horse power.

Ford uses their synthetic blend oil which is good for about 5k-6k milage wise.

Good luck

i think the difference here is performance vs stock, as performance motors (talking full blown drag) usually arent made to last 100k miles or longer imo... jmo, but 4x before 1500 is a bit often, i'd say 1k, then 3k, then 5k and then stick w/ whatver interval you like... jmo... good name brand syn oil and a good filter (wix, purolator, etc etc) and an interval equal to or less than the factory spec should be fine... when in doubt change sooner though

 

[peterk9]

My dealer uses regular oil as stated in the Owner's Manual. I confirmed that the other day when I took the Aviator in for an oil change. The Explorer and Aviators built for the Canadian market do not have a synthetic or synthetic blend in them. Of course, there is nothing preventing an owner from using those.

Peter

 

[dejen3303]

My dealer uses regular oil as stated in the Owner's Manual. I confirmed that the other day when I took the Aviator in for an oil change. The Explorer and Aviators built for the Canadian market do not have a synthetic or synthetic blend in them. Of course, there is nothing preventing an owner from using those.

Peter

I found, after 15k miles in my (new) 2011 GMC Acadia, that the Dexos oil didn't use a quart in 5k like the regular oil did. I was sold on it and I still use it to this day in my Explorer. I also use the ACDelco PF63 filter. I had a bunch left over when I got rid of the Jimmy (at 60k) and they fit. Just my personal experience.
Talking about oils and filters with gearheads is like talking politics with intellectuals.

 

[FranksFords]

look up fordbossme or fordtechmakuloco on YouTube. master Ford techs. Ecoboost engines need oil changes every 3 to 5 thousand miles.

 

[MikeHTally]

look up fordbossme or fordtechmakuloco on YouTube. master Ford techs. Ecoboost engines need oil changes every 3 to 5 thousand miles.

Only under "extreme" conditions. "Severe" conditions call for 5,000 to 7,500. My Speed3, the Mustang, Escape and Explorer all got changes at 6,000-7,000 depending on conditions. My Escape once had a near-8,000 interval because 4,000 of those were on cross-country trips. Eight to ten hours a day at highway speeds is enough to keep the oil in good shape and in fact after those 8,000 miles the oil on the dipstick was still very clean.

 

[FranksFords]

Only under "extreme" conditions. "Severe" conditions call for 5,000 to 7,500. My Speed3, the Mustang, Escape and Explorer all got changes at 6,000-7,000 depending on conditions. My Escape once had a near-8,000 interval because 4,000 of those were on cross-country trips. Eight to ten hours a day at highway speeds is enough to keep the oil in good shape and in fact after those 8,000 miles the oil on the dipstick was still very clean.

these guys are Ford trained master techs. one works at dealership and see these vehicles daily and what the recommended intervals do. hard not to follow experience.

 

[kam327]

I went through a phase where I thought it was neat to change oil at 1,000 miles on a new car. Eventually I realized that I never keep cars long enough where a problem caused by oil would surface and cost me money.

Here's just one example of a 2.3L that went 9,000 miles without a major issue.

UOA: 2019 Ford Ranger 2.3T Ecoboost

This is with the Ford Performance engine tune and the K&N air filter that goes with it. TBN is still good at 9k and OLM at 8%, 10k would be fine which is where the OLM would have been about at 0%. This is "normal" commuting and a few road trips. Motorcraft full synthetic 5w30 in and out, MC...

bobistheoilguy.com

 

[94Eddie]

these guys are Ford trained master techs. one works at dealership and see these vehicles daily and what the recommended intervals do. hard not to follow experience.

Ford's recommended service intervals for many components in many vehicles sold for over the past two decades are incredibly inadequate. They recommended fluid changes for many transmissions to be at 150k miles which boarders on criminal negligence, IMO, toward the owner. The same goes for the small displacement turbocharged engines used in most of their SUVs, light duty trucks and some past cars. Because they are undersized they are working harder and see a more severe duty cycle than Ford admits to. They need to be treated as being in severe duty conditions at all times and use cases. My advice is to ignore Ford's recommended service intervals for most fluids. The only exception is if you never plan to own the car out of warranty. Then you just transfer the problems created from lack of proper maintenance to the next owner.

 

[I bleed Ford Blue]

Then you just transfer the problems created from lack of proper maintenance to the next owner.

This is exactly why I never buy a used car anymore, you never know what the idiot before you did or not do.

 

[94Eddie]

This is exactly why I never buy a used car anymore, you never know what the idiot before you did or not do.

A Carfax report can show if proper maintenance was done. Especially if done by a dealer. It will also show accidents if they are reported, where a vehicle was driven and if it was in areas where the roads are salted heavily. If it was then I pass on it even if it was well maintained. A Carfax report isn't infallible but what it does show can be very useful in evaluating a vehicle for purchase. If very little information is shown then I will pass on the vehicle.

 

[J_C]

keptman[/USER]]"The biggest issue with oil is the filter will be done before the oil is." "Most filters are done by 3500 miles then they bypass the check valve."

I'd like to see a study or a paper on that. In all of my 40 years in the business of servicing and repairing mobile equipment, the school of thought is that the majority of contaminants (aside from catastrophic failure) stay suspended in the oil. That is why we send in samples of the oil and not the filter.

Agreed, I'd want a source for this, all evidence I've seen suggests a standard quality filter lasts far longer than this (unless the engine has a problem causing an excessive contamination rate, or severe duty, overheating the oil or very short trips), and a high mileage filter, longer still.

Besides, if the ABDV is opening, the oil analysis will show excessive xyz in it, in the oil. The contaminants that stay suspended depend on their micron size vs the size the filter is designed to trap. Lower micron with equal life requires more surface area and potentially different material which raises cost. I'm certain Ford knows through testing that their specified filters will perform adequately for the prescribed change interval, not bypass at a mere 3K5 mi.

 

[davidmmm69]

I’m going to be taking a long road trip of about 3k miles or so in a few weeks and my 2021 platinum will have only just over 3300 miles on it prior to the trip. I know the Oil change interval is something like 8k miles on these things now; but wondering if anyone has done their first oil change prior to that mileage Or if people generally would recommend changing the oil sooner for the first change anymore (I know that used to be a thing)? If so, Would you change the oil before or after the trip? vehicle was bought 5 months ago.

You spent what $40000 on a suv? Spend the $35.00 and change the oil every 3000 miles for your peace of mind! I have two explorers 400000 miles between them and change them at 3000. Let's see full synthetic at Walmart $22.00 for a jug. And $3.99 motorcraft filter on Amazon.

 

[MikeHTally]

Agreed, I'd want a source for this, all evidence I've seen suggests a standard quality filter lasts far longer than this (unless the engine has a problem causing an excessive contamination rate, or severe duty, overheating the oil or very short trips), and a high mileage filter, longer still.

Besides, if the ABDV is opening, the oil analysis will show excessive xyz in it, in the oil. The contaminants that stay suspended depend on their micron size vs the size the filter is designed to trap. Lower micron with equal life requires more surface area and potentially different material which raises cost. I'm certain Ford knows through testing that their specified filters will perform adequately for the prescribed change interval, not bypass at a mere 3K5 mi.

Someone on a forum was harping on the pressure at which the by-pass valve opened in a discussion of after-market filters. If the filter gets that far gone, it's WAY past any reasonable or even speculative change interval. I'll keep using my K&N filters, thank you.

 

[94Eddie]

Agreed, I'd want a source for this, all evidence I've seen suggests a standard quality filter lasts far longer than this (unless the engine has a problem causing an excessive contamination rate, or severe duty, overheating the oil or very short trips), and a high mileage filter, longer still.

Besides, if the ABDV is opening, the oil analysis will show excessive xyz in it, in the oil. The contaminants that stay suspended depend on their micron size vs the size the filter is designed to trap. Lower micron with equal life requires more surface area and potentially different material which raises cost. I'm certain Ford knows through testing that their specified filters will perform adequately for the prescribed change interval, not bypass at a mere 3K5 mi.

If the filter was super efficient then they would cost more than the oil and they would be huge to keep their operating pressure from being sky high. Also, any reasonbly priced and sized filter won't remove the non-particle contaminants like acids etc. that build up in the oil. It would be less expensive to just use the current items and change the oil twice as often. If cost is a concern it would probably be better to do 3k oil changes using conventional oil over using full synthetic and going 8k miles between changes.

 

[J_C]

^ It's all relative. Even using same media material, they can just make the weave tighter but put more pleats in it, and shoehorn in to the same size can or cartridge. Of course there are limits, and at some point the higher filtration filters, do reduce oil pressure.

Cost is a moving target. You can get a little filter for a 4 banger car, that costs about the same as a much larger filter for a truck. Even my riding mower, can take the spec'd $10 B&S filter or I can choose from over a dozen larger filters that fit it (and a Toyota Camry) for half the cost.

Oil is better than it used to be. If it's not a severe environment, today's synthetic can easily do 8K OCI, unless it's a lot of short trips.

 

[Fix4Dirt]

imo for the price, its cheap isnurance to go 3k and do an oil change w a good filter (motorcraft or wix or purolator boss are my faves), and whatever name brand syn is on sale (preferably mobil1) but its usually pennzoil... filter matters more imo and consider this.. at least here in Cali, where gas is $6 a gal, the cost for me to do an oil change is about $30, which is 5 gallons of gas, which in the X will get me around 80 miles... i just cut down on trips to the store etc and I make that 5 gal up before the next OCI... even more so for newvrhicle (you just paid probably 40k!)

 

[94Eddie]

^ It's all relative. Even using same media material, they can just make the weave tighter but put more pleats in it, and shoehorn in to the same size can or cartridge. Of course there are limits, and at some point the higher filtration filters, do reduce oil pressure.

Cost is a moving target. You can get a little filter for a 4 banger car, that costs about the same as a much larger filter for a truck. Even my riding mower, can take the spec'd $10 B&S filter or I can choose from over a dozen larger filters that fit it (and a Toyota Camry) for half the cost.

Oil is better than it used to be. If it's not a severe environment, today's synthetic can easily do 8K OCI, unless it's a lot of short trips.

The question is can the under engineered, high load use case engine go 8k miles between oil changes. Especially the turbochargers.

 

[LoneStarLizzard]

I've always been skeptical about auto makers' recommended service intervals/fluid changes. After all, the auto makers offer a "limited life" warranty. Consequently, I view their recommended service intervals as being only sufficient for the car to survive the warranty period. Thereafter the auto maker and dealer are both happy for the car owner to bring his car back to a dealership to repair - at the owner's cost - all problems and/or purchase a replacement vehicle. So the auto maker's and dealer's interests only coincide with the owner's interest during the vehicle's warranty period. thereafter?

The last auto maker who prided itself on the longevity of its vehicles was Mercedes Benz - in the 1980s. MB's E class and S class vehicles were legendary for their longevity (which in turn propped up those cars' resale values). Those days are long gone.

 

[Pedro504]

I've always been skeptical about auto makers' recommended service intervals/fluid changes. After all, the auto makers offer a "limited life" warranty. Consequently, I view their recommended service intervals as being only sufficient for the car to survive the warranty period. Thereafter the auto maker and dealer are both happy for the car owner to bring his car back to a dealership to repair - at the owner's cost - all problems and/or purchase a replacement vehicle. So the auto maker's and dealer's interests only coincide with the owner's interest during the vehicle's warranty period. thereafter?

The last auto maker who prided itself on the longevity of its vehicles was Mercedes Benz - in the 1980s. MB's E class and S class vehicles were legendary for their longevity (which in turn propped up those cars' resale values). Those days are long gone.

My '97 Mercedes S320, W140 series, a very fine vehicle indeed and often missed dearly.