Traded in my Toyota Tacoma (2010) for an F 150. Needed more towing power and better fuel mileage. Love the truck! I'm puzzled by Ford's oil recommendation which is for [of course] their own oil, Motorcraft, but a synthetic BLEND 5W-30, rather than full synthetic. Since I'm an 'old timer' who comes from the old school, 'change oil and filter every 3000 miles' kind of thinking, it has been with difficulty that I have accepted the fact that technology has changed, that there is good reason to listen to new information. It was difficult to accept that my 2006 Porsche could go 15,000 miles between oil changes with full synthetic. I 'get' that Ford's recommendation of 10,000 miles or less [if the computer tells you to] for oil changes in the F 150. But I do not understand the recommendation for a synthetic blend rather than full synthetic. I went ahead and bought 10 qts of the Motorcraft blend, 5W-30 as recommended, partly due to price, but have questions for the future in order of importance:
1. Is there ANY circumstance in which a blended synthetic is preferred to a full synthetic, price considerations aside?
2. Is there any benefit to a full synthetic over a blended synthetic other than a longer change interval?
3. Another 'old school' consideration: First Oil Change. The manual makes no mention of an early oil change after the break in period. I'm inclined to change the initial oil at about 2000 miles, then go with the recommended interval.
4. I'm also thinking more frequent changes with a blend rather than longer intervals with full synthetic. I'm planning my annual snowbird trek to San Felipe, Baja, Mexico, pulling a small trailer. I'll probably do the first oil change just before I leave. Using full synthetic makes more sense if I want to avoid fussing with an oil change while on the road and when towing.
5. The new, expensive Castrol Edge would probably be my choice if I wanted to extend the interval.
2016 Ford F 150 2.7 Ecoboost Oil Recommendations
- Thread starter Danmark
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M1 5w30 and Motorcraft filter and call it done
Welcome to the forum!
Since you have a new vehicle you should probably ease into the extended oil drains and all that.
Your 2000 mile dump is fine, some change earlier, some change later.. no real evidence of any gains or losses either way.
Your first oil change before the trip would probably be best suited for a semi-syn to get good wear patterns and good cylinder honing. I would go with the Pennzoil Gold 5W30 and a Fram and just enjoy your trip.
Change it when you get home with the same stuff..then at around 10K start easing into synthetics if you want to do longer drains.
Let those turbos idle a little bit before shutdown on your long trip and cool that oil down for long service.
Motorcraft is good oil, not sure if the 2.7 follows suit, but the 3.5EB has a reputation for beating up oil pretty badly. I would probably run MC for 5000 mile intervals.
Does your truck display the oil life in the cluster or do you have to run a Vehicle Health Report with sync?
Thanks Kris! I'm interested in the thinking behind, "Let those turbos idle a little bit before shutdown on your long trip and cool that oil down for long service." I don't know much about turbochargers, but I understand they get hot. Am I correct in assuming that simply driving slowly and avoiding aggressive acceleration in the last 20 minutes or so of a drive will keep the turbos from engaging? I've only got about 1600 miles on the truck and have been babying it, getting great mpg readings. It's fun to find I'm getting much better mileage AND more power compared to the Tacoma. Hauling my 3000 mile 'Stealth RV,' a converted utility trailer, last year up the La Rumorosa grade in Baja had me using 1st gear. I didn't like the 'no margin for error' driving I had to do.
Had a Mack truck and my 91 Ford has a aftermarket Banks and they have a pyrometer and found that taking the last mile to the farm under 30 mph would bring the exhaust temps way down. Have no idea about what the oil temps were. Maybe one could get a OBD2 reader and get those temps as the newer engines seem to monitor most everything
Originally Posted By: DuckRyder
Motorcraft is good oil, not sure if the 2.7 follows suit, but the 3.5EB has a reputation for beating up oil pretty badly. I would probably run MC for 5000 mile intervals.
Does your truck display the oil life in the cluster or do you have to run a Vehicle Health Report with sync?
My step son bought a 2015 2.7 Ecoboost and it's a very impressive engine to me. Way better performance than my 5.4/3v We just did the first change on Sunday at 3500 and plan another one at 10k then follow the OLM there after.
Danmark, you'd better set up a turbotimer to avoid any problems with your turbo. It's pretty hot thing, especially some points so keep in mind that it'd be better to run your engine 1 extra minute after you stopped.
All these blends are mixed with high percents of group 2 base stocks, not the best choice for v6 turbo. I think it would be better to use something on GTL from SOPUS( PUP, QSUD) or ester based(Red line) in such an engine where thermal&oxidation oil stability is much more important than in non-charged engine.
So you can make shorter OCIs till your blend 5-30 ends
Get full synthetic. Ford initially recommended 5W20 for EB engines. It would not be first time that some company tried to lower oil costs for customers and customers paid big price for that.
With price of 5qt full syn jugs in Wal mart, I just cannot believe anyone is running anything but full synthetic in their engines.
A quick video tip https://youtu.be/wl8-6v-kxuc
With this turbo design it should ok without a timer .I've got a friend that is just north of 60k using Castrol Magnatec semi syn and he swears by it.
For some reason a lot of folks think that full synthetic oils last longer than conventional base oils, which in many cases is just not true.
A full synthetic oil is not so effected by high temp shearing issue, so does tend to maintain viscosity better during a long OCI, BUT not many engine types shear their oil. Most of those engines have either a hot running turbo or high max RPM limits.
There are quite a number of reasons why an oil needs to be changed. If the oil becomes contaminated with fuel or wear metals it does not matter if it is a conventional or synthetic, the limits will be the same. The same applies if the oil runs out of active detergents, which is often a limiting factor when extending an OCI.
The only way to really judge how long an OCI is good for your engine is to do a UOA series, as every engine is different, is subject to a different useage and is in a different condition. Oddly enough a longer OCI can sometimes produce better wear rates than a short one.
If you have an engine where high temp shearing is an issue, then GTL or German standard synthoils (Group 4) do seem to be best at resisting shearing. Also stick to major brand oil companies, as it is possible to make a bad HC synthetic oil and the major engine oil companies don't cut too many corners in terms of the additives they use and additives are just as important as the base stock.
PS: Make sure you do not breach the warranty in terms of which oil & filter you use and who does the service etc.
PPS: If an engine uses a special factory fill oil, dumping it early is not a good idea, so it's best to ask your dealer about that.
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Here is a F150 EcoBoost that is producing excellent UOA (used oil analysis) using semi-synthetic Castrol Magnatec 5W30 at 7000 mile OCI (oil change interval)
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3839330/
So yes, semi-synthetics work if they are well designed. Castrol make a good one, and I'm sure Ford wouldn't put their name behind Motorcraft if they didn't trust it to do the job.
BTW for the record, the oil doesn't shear, the polymer VII (viscosity index improvers) shear. A monograde without VII doesn't shear even if it's a mineral oil. The synthetics offer better oxidation resistance and a better natural viscosity index (thereby requiring less VII).
Yes old school turbos required a minute or two of idle time to keep the oil flowing as the engine cooled before shutting down. However I believe most modern turbos like the EB are water cooled and have this all under control.
Same with changing the factory fill (FF) early, some do it, some don't, but nobody has any problems, so it works out fine both ways.
Relax and enjoy your new vehicle.
Originally Posted By: Danmark
Thanks Kris! I'm interested in the thinking behind, "Let those turbos idle a little bit before shutdown on your long trip and cool that oil down for long service." I don't know much about turbochargers, but I understand they get hot. Am I correct in assuming that simply driving slowly and avoiding aggressive acceleration in the last 20 minutes or so of a drive will keep the turbos from engaging?
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FWIW, another 2.7 powered F150 owner here.
The 2.7 never recommended 5w20. While other Ecoboost engines may have (though I believe they never did in the F150), 5w30 has been the recommended viscosity since the inception of this motor. No reason to let that discussion derail this one.
Personally, I've chosen to stick with the motorcraft 5w30 semi-syn. Did the first oil change at 2500 miles, and will do another at 10,000 (approximately 25% oil life remaining per the reminder). After that, will likely follow the monitor, and for sure during warranty.
And there is some validity to the advice to let the turbos cool a bit before shutting down. However, for the most part, unless you've been working the turbos hard just prior to shutoff, things are fine with the water and oil cooling in this design. This setup is equipped with an oil cooler that exchanges heat with the coolant. (Passenger front top of engine IIRC).
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I switch back and forth with M1 & PP ... Don't think you'd go wrong with either.
Read the owners manual and let the engine idle for a few seconds when driving around town and maybe a minute after pulling hard.The turbos are cooled with coolant, Pick an oil with the proper ratings and have at it. that is it mo magic needed.
Originally Posted By: SR5
Here is a F150 EcoBoost that is producing excellent UOA (used oil analysis) using semi-synthetic Castrol Magnatec 5W30 at 7000 mile OCI (oil change interval)
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/3839330/
So yes, semi-synthetics work if they are well designed. Castrol make a good one, and I'm sure Ford wouldn't put their name behind Motorcraft if they didn't trust it to do the job.
BTW for the record, the oil doesn't shear, the polymer VII (viscosity index improvers) shear. A monograde without VII doesn't shear even if it's a mineral oil. The synthetics offer better oxidation resistance and a better natural viscosity index (thereby requiring less VII).
Yes old school turbos required a minute or two of idle time to keep the oil flowing as the engine cooled before shutting down. However I believe most modern turbos like the EB are water cooled and have this all under control.
Originally Posted By: CT8
Read the owners manual and let the engine idle for a few seconds when driving around town and maybe a minute after pulling hard.The turbos are cooled with coolant, Pick an oil with the proper ratings and have at it. that is it mo magic needed.
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