You may or may not find this interesting. The whole Bronco launch has been such a fiasco you would think something as simple as the oil capacity would be a non-issue. Luckily my truck has been great but I wanted to share the journey that is the mysterious oil capacity of my engine.
TL;DR version: Ford says 7qt, dipstick shows overfull. Instead of revising dipstick they say 6qts is fine. Still fills new engines with 7.5qt at factory.
We start pre-production when people are dying for any tidbit of information on the highly anticipated new model that they put deposits down to reserve.
By Dusty Rhodes Over the last week, Ford has released fuel economy and horsepower ratings for the 2021 Bronco. The results were an improvement over “preliminary specs.” The figures also show what we all expected: The Bronco is capable of going toe to toe with the Wrangler in both fuel economy...
thebronconation.com
Angles That Will Make You Pucker
With a long list of additional off-road standards being added to the engineering requirements, one challenge that surfaced was keeping both the 2.3L and 2.7L engines properly lubricated in aggressive terrain. John Kilby, Engine Systems Engineer at Ford, told Bronco Nation that the rear oil sumps were upgraded, and the oil pans enlarged to deliver adequate pressure at a 45 degree downhill angle and a 30 degree side slope –– not bad.
The larger pans mean the Bronco will hold seven quarts of oil (the Ranger uses six). This will ensure Bronco engines maintain standards under the demands of off-roading.
Fast forward to official specs coming out. The 2.3L only holds 6.2 quarts but the 2.7L remains at 7.
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Now production and deliveries have begun. 2.7L owners are confused how much oil to drain and fill. From the factory the dipsticks are filled well above the "maximum" line on the dipstick. The manual says to use 7 quarts but also never exceed the maximum mark on the dipstick. This is impossible to do because 7 quarts fills well above the mark. There is some thought that owners are not following the oil drain steps correctly and oil is being retained in the engine. Eventually a dealer reaches out to a field service engineer at Ford who confirms 7qts is the correct capacity and there is no issue with filling the engine with 7 quarts.
So now owners are using 7 quarts but the dipstick still reads incorrect. A few weeks ago a new/revised part number pops up for 2.7L dipstick. The story is that during covid remote/work-from-home engineering the wrong stick was used. My dealer orders some and swaps them out under warranty. Ford calls back the parts which is somewhat unusual according to the him. The new stick reads correctly and everyone is happy, right? Now Ford needs to send 40,000 dipsticks out to all the 2.7L owners to make the oil level read correctly.
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All was seemingly fine until about 7-10 days ago when an owner had his oil changed at the dealer. They used 6qts which the customer questioned. A lot of dealers are used to changing F150 2.7s which take 6. They assume the Bronco is the same. The dealer shows him the service manual which is the bible they are to follow. It now suddenly shows 6 quart capacity. A few days later the online owners manual updates with the same. A dealer employee says to wait until a special service bulletin is issued to make sure it's not a mistake. Sure enough they release one yesterday.
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Notice they say drain and fill is 6qts, but they still fill a dry engine with 7.5. Also using 7qts will not damage the engine.
Since I have the revised dipstick I used 7 quarts last night when changing my oil. 6qts would show low. I don't think any of this is related to the
2.7L engine failures the NHTSA is investigating but it certainly doesn't inspire confidence that they can't even stay consistent on how much oil the pan holds.
If the factory can use 7.5qts why can't I? More oil in the sump is a good thing right? What would you guys do? Am I making a big deal out of nothing or is this ridiculous as it seems to me?