Express Oil Change Oil Filters

[BackwoodsAL]

Hello, everyone. Just curious about this. I just bought a 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis (with only 58k miles!!!) and I was in a rush to give it its first oil change (I wanted to go to Ford dealership, but it was the weekend and they were closed). So, I went to Express Oil Change, to go ahead and at least get it serviced. I know they use Valvoline oil, but who makes these filters? Are they Purolator's? TIA!

 

[Lubener]

Probably either a Champ or Purolator cheapie. Hard to tell until you remove it. Myself, I would have waited and visited the dealer on Monday and get a better product installed on my G.M.

 

[JTK]

What ever it is, it will be fine for a ~5000mi OCI.

 

[blupupher]

What ever it is, it will be fine for a ~5000mi OCI.

This.

Only way to tell what it is would be to take it off, or go to Oil Change Express and ask to see one of their filters.
Looking at the baseplate and top, you can tell who makes 95% of the filters.

Purolator, Champ, or a Made in China filter would be my guesses.

 

[wpod]

The air filter is the important filter.

 

[BackwoodsAL]

Thanks for the replies, everyone.

@Lubener Yes, I know. I feel bad about it, because I'm not the type to use Quicky Lube places, but the guy I bought the car from said the oil was already past due and didn't want to wait, I'll be taking the car to Ford real soon for another oil change.

 

[AnthemBassMan]

If a $1.99 Prime Guard oil filter will be fine for a 3k-5k oil change, then you should be fine with this one until your next oil change.

L8R,
Matt

 

[FordMan59]

I always use the cheapest oil filter available on 5K-7.5K mile intervals using conventional 10w40 and have never had an issue. I increased the OCI to 7.5K miles in my '16 Versa on the last oil change The oil still came out looking good and was a dark honey color when I got some of it on my hands. I do an oil blot test every 500-1K. At 7.5K mine looked like what they say is oil of a properly functioning ICE with short run period. https://atomium.eu/home/articles/condition-based-lubricating-oil-change/ The oil wasn't black at all. In the late 60's Ford recommended a 6K mile OCI by the late '70's GM recommended a 7.5K OCI. These were intervals on cars with carburetors. With the advancement in engines/oils/fuel injection I feel safe at 7.5K. I currently have two cars with over 200K miles on 5K mile OCI and neither engine uses more than about 1/2 quart between changes. I had an '88 Ford Escort with over 500K miles and although the engine was leaking/using quite a bit of oil when I quit driving it I didn't quit driving it because the the engine gave out but, because it needed other work and having chronic back pain I didn't feel like doing the work and wasn't paying someone $50-100 an hour to work on it. The compression numbers on the Escort were still 145-155 PSI across all 4 cylinders when I quit using it.

 

[SatinSilver]

I'll be taking the car to Ford real soon for another oil change.

No need to take it to the Ford dealer real soon. Wait 6 months/5k miles before taking it in. Check oil level often and replace air filter if dirty. Walmart has a good selection.

 

[BackwoodsAL]

No need to take it to the Ford dealer real soon. Wait 6 months/5k miles before taking it in. Check oil level often and replace air filter if dirty. Walmart has a good selection.

Yeah, I might wait a bit, but I probably won't even go over 3,000 miles, just because of my OCD and knowing how whacky these Ford Modular engines can be when using certain types of filters, especially if you use a filter with a malfunctioning ADBV (seen this on Orange Can FRAM filters), it can grenade the chain guides.

 

[Kira]

Good, better and best were words to buy by.
Death, acceptable and "what I want" are BITOGers words.
Bottom rung filters are death.

A mechanic I know swore he saw the media in cheap filters simply flow into and clog the first oil passage it could reach thus starving the engine for oil and destroying it. I'll withhold the brand name as his experiences are from long ago.

What some "production manager" OKs for use on some cruddy filter assembly line is what I'd avoid.
The constant laugh on this GREAT BOARD is that nobody has ever once gotten samples of media.
Paying a little more for a name brand filter is no guarantee of anything but it'd beat using some unrealistically cheap filter.
I only speak for myself.

 

[Hockeypuck]

Being your second oil change after getting the car, I would go for low OCI. It might give you the chance to spot issues if you do it yourself.

 

[BackwoodsAL]

Being your second oil change after getting the car, I would go for low OCI. It might give you the chance to spot issues if you do it yourself.

I do my own oil changes on my F-150 and Dodge Ram, but this car is so low to the ground, even on ramps, I don't want to even attempt it, lol. So far though, the car seems to use no oil. After just under 1,000 miles, the oil level has not budged, as of yet.

 

[slacktide_bitog]

A Grand Marquis is too low to drive on ramps? Is yours a lowrider or something?

 

[BackwoodsAL]

A Grand Marquis is too low to drive on ramps? Is yours a lowrider or something?

Lol, no; not that low... Just low enough for me not to want to crawl my fat self underneath it to do an oil change. This is my first time ever owning a car and it looks like a pain to do maintenance on.

 

[FordMan59]

My mom has a Grand Marquis. Usually when it needs an oil change I get the oil/filter and take it to a local mechanic to have it done. As I remember the front bumper is so low that when trying to put it on ramps the bumper hit the ramps prior to the front wheels getting to the ramps. Mom's needs an oil change now. I may jack it up, put a jack stand underneath it while I remove the plug and change the filter. Once the filter is changed and the plug is out I can take the jack stand and jack out from under it while it drains. Using a floor jack and putting a jack stand underneath it for safety while I pull/replace the plug and change the filter shouldn't add more than 5 minutes time to the oil change.

 

[ripcord]

A miti-vac will solve all your problems. (Not really but it makes oil changes easier)

 

[BackwoodsAL]

My mom has a Grand Marquis. Usually when it needs an oil change I get the oil/filter and take it to a local mechanic to have it done. As I remember the front bumper is so low that when trying to put it on ramps the bumper hit the ramps prior to the front wheels getting to the ramps. Mom's needs an oil change now. I may jack it up, put a jack stand underneath it while I remove the plug and change the filter. Once the filter is changed and the plug is out I can take the jack stand and jack out from under it while it drains. Using a floor jack and putting a jack stand underneath it for safety while I pull/replace the plug and change the filter shouldn't add more than 5 minutes time to the oil change.

Yeah, it definitely doesn't have much room. I haven't even tried it on my ramps yet, to see if it will pull up on them.

 

[BackwoodsAL]

Hey, guys. Just thought I would post an update to this thread, if anyone is interested. I talked to someone at Express and they said the filters they use are by a company called "Ecogard". Express used to use Valvoline filters back when I used to take my F-150 there (a LONG time ago) and those were Purolator. Not sure about the quality of Ecogard. From now on though, the car will be getting Motorcraft filters.

 

[tc1446]

This on thier web site:

Quality filters for every application



ECOGARD is your trusted source for a complete line of automotive filters that combine gold-standard quality with market-leading value.
Manufactured in the same ISO/TS:16949-certified factories that produce major OEM filters, every ECOGARD filter meets the requirements for maintaining new vehicle warranties. Our engineering team continually develops solutions that maximize efficiency and reduce cost, while maintaining the highest levels of quality—giving our customers a competitive advantage.
With ECOGARD form, fit and function are guaranteed. Every ECOGARD automotive filter is fit-tested and validated in our U.S. laboratory to ensure trouble-free installation and reliable performance. No wonder professional installers love ECOGARD.
ECOGARD gets to market first with new automotive filter applications. We keep our customers ahead of the pack through our innovative Elite Program, automatically providing shelf-ready new parts as they become available.