Oil Change Interval | Ford Explorer Forums - Serious Explorations

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Oil Change Interval

ricklee4570

Member
Joined
August 17, 2008
Messages
36
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City, State
Virginia
Year, Model & Trim Level
1994
How often do you guys change the oil? I do 90% highway driving and change the oil every 5000 miles. Castrol 10W30
 



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WOW! There's a question to start a battle...I am sure you're going to get more answers than you can sort through in a month of Sundays.

So my answer is going to be....."It depends".

Now, I don't like to tell people what to do with their own vehicles, so I'm just gonna tell you what I do, ok?

Get ready...this is gonna be quite a bit of info.

I got a 1992 S10 with a little over 200k in the clock. I run Castrol GTX in it, 4 quarts+1 quart Lucas, gets driven MAYBE 15-20 miles every month or two, basically just to keep everything lubed, and the battery charged. I change it every 3 months.....or whenever I remember! *LOL*

1990 crown vic that I inherited from my (now deceased) grandmother. It's my DD, with nearly 100K on it. use Pennzoil 10w40 in it, 90 mile round trip every day, half country road, half highway. Change every 3,000 religiously. Currently in search of an engine from a '95-'96 V8 explorer for this puppy, if I don't sell/trade 'er first.

Bought the wife an '06 Fusion. It now has 70k on it, run Pennzoil 5w20 in it,
(5w20 is what Ford says use) 90 mile round trip, strictly highway every day, change it about every 5,000 (Again, as per Ford) sometimes as late as 6,000.

So ya see, it depends on mileage, useage of the vehicle, how much it's driven, how far it's driven every day, manufacturers recommendation, and of course, personal preference.

Joe.
 






So right FORXXX LOL

How often to change the oil? Exactly the way the manufacturers recommends. No reason to change it, they engineered and built it.

Everything else is a waste, and most often done by people who then complain about high gas prices.

Greetings!
 






Since the manufacturer recommends 3,000-7,500 depending on the conditions I think you are safe to be anywhere within that range. At 90% highway you could probably go more than 5k. My driving is more like 20% highway so I go 3,500 or so.
 






WOW! There's a question to start a battle...I am sure you're going to get more answers than you can sort through in a month of Sundays.
Joe.
Yup, so here goes;

This is very simple, use the best synthetic oil and the best filter you can find (NOT Fram) and take a sample at 5000 miles (or 3000 if you worried) and have it analyzed. The results will tell you what interval to use.

I run Amsoil Signature Series 0-W30 and my 7500 mile test results indicate I can run it at least 15,000 miles in the X and 20,000 miles in the Aviator.


There is a thread about the analysis results. You can compare your results to others although the testing companies like Blackstone Labs will give averages of like vehicles as well as your previous results.
 






I change mine once a year whether it needs it or not.









I only drive the Explorer <1000 miles/yr and use Mobil 1.
 






http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

you'll learn alot about oil, driving conditions, shearing, extended drain intervals, etc

aldive on this forum runs AMSoil 0w30 and gets it analyzed. with his filter bypass system he has run up to 25,000 miles on one oil change (see here http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=156241&highlight=UOA)

it all depends on how clean your engine is, and how you drive it. people get their oil tested regularly and they find out how long they can go with a certain brand. each brand of oil is different.

generally the rule is with synthetic oil you can run longer then regular oil, but it also depends on the type of oil filter you use as well.

personally i've tried royal purple 5w30 twice, and wasn't impressed with the results. for a synthetic i ran about 3,000 miles and it was just about worn out. i do however drive my truck hard. now i'm running pennzoil platnium 5w30 and will be doing an analysis in about 1K. If the results are looking good (i've seen a steady downstream of the wear metals in the oil) i'm thinking of switching to AMSoil.
 






change oil often!

Changing your oil on time is crucial to engine life! I run 5-30 in my 93' 4.0L and have changed the oil every 2,500 miles since the engine was rebuilt. Manufacturers recommend every 3 months or 3,000 miles. By keeping clean oil in your engine it will reduce sludge buildup, lengthen engine life by thousands of miles, and good lubricity will increase mpg! ;)
 






In the user manual for my '93 Sport, it lists the interval as 5,000 miles, but I prefer every 3k
 






The only way to really tell when your oil needs changing, or about how long you can go before the oil breaks down, is to take oil samples from the engine and send them off for analysis. With this information you can determine is the oil you're using breaking down to fast? holding up well? If it lasts longer and still has a good condition you can go longer between changes... but just remember that even if you can go longer between oil changes, your oil filter might not be able to.
 






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