New Expedition: 1st oil change, when?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Originally Posted By: Virtuoso
Maintain it by the book. No liability on you, and then you're not spending any more than you or they have to.


exactly - do what's right - no need to do more.
 
Its not your truck so why waste money on it? The next guy isn't going to care.

Open the owners manual and maintain it by the book, don't waste additional money on it.
 
Last edited:
from Ford:

What the IOLM measures to determine when an oil change is needed

Several key factors that affect oil life include:

Driving habits (such as towing and workload)
Hours in operation and at idle
Oil and coolant temperature
Engine speed and torque
Diesel particulate filter (DPF) cleaning cycles

How the IOLM works

The IOLM does not use oil quality sensors – it is entirely software-based and uses actual engine operating conditions to calculate the oil change interval by using an algorithm. This means the system must be reset after an oil change. Not doing so will result in a premature OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message.
The frequency of oil changes

Depending on driving conditions, oil change intervals are approximately:

Up to 10,000 miles - Normal commuting with highway driving
5,000 – 7,500 miles - Trailer tow/high-load driving
3,000 – 5,000 miles - Short trip usage, extreme cold or hot temperature

NOTE: Actual mileage will depend on your specific driving conditions.

Under normal conditions, you will get an OIL CHANGE REQUIRED message at up to 1 year, or 10,000 miles from the previous oil change.
What the IOLM tells you

You’ll find a display in your instrument cluster’s message center that will notify you of oil change intervals by displaying ENGINE OIL CHANGE SOON or OIL CHANGE REQUIRED. The system will also indicate when fuel filters need maintenance, or if fuel pressure is low.*

*Refer to owner’s guide for specific applications.
Synthetic oil and the IOLM

Ford engines have been tested using Motorcraft® Synthetic Blended Oils. If you do use synthetic oil, it needs to meet the Ford specifications for motor oil and the specific oil weight as indicated in the owner’s guide. Ford still recommends using the oil change service intervals as indicated by the IOLM.
 
In my FX4, I changed mine at 1K, then again at 4.5K and settled into a 7.5K OCI (now 10K). Use MC FL-820s filters (they are good for at least 10K) and use a quality conventional 5W-20 oil. There is no need to run a synthetic in that engine unless you are planning more than a 10K OCI.

Good luck with it!
 
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
In my FX4, I changed mine at 1K, then again at 4.5K and settled into a 7.5K OCI (now 10K).


Good for you. The extra TLC at the beginning will pay-off in the end!
 
Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
In my FX4, I changed mine at 1K, then again at 4.5K and settled into a 7.5K OCI (now 10K).


Good for you. The extra TLC at the beginning will pay-off in the end!


Explain how and when is "the end"?
 
By the book!

I haven't purchased a single used vehicle (or my immediate family) that had records showing by the book maintenance. Doing the minimum suggested maintenance is way better than what most owners do. Oh, and all of those used vehicles have been just fine. You don't gain anything with extra early oil changes.
 
Originally Posted By: silverrat
Originally Posted By: 147_Grain
Originally Posted By: 2010_FX4
In my FX4, I changed mine at 1K, then again at 4.5K and settled into a 7.5K OCI (now 10K).

Good for you. The extra TLC at the beginning will pay-off in the end!

Explain how and when is "the end"?

How - removing the break-in metals early. Make a difference? Cannot be proven either way, but it does have merit and certainly cannot hurt.

When is the end - somewhere in the neighborhood of 500K++ miles.
 
Originally Posted By: cptbarkey
uh, as a company vehicle who cares. unless you plan on buying it afterwards.


Wow....

I care, I happen to be the General Manager of the company I work for and I fully realize that if the company prospers, so do I.
 
I failed to mention, that the owners manual just has a "routine" and "severe" maintenance schedule; I'll change according to the manual. The vehicle doesn't have an oil change monitor, so this type of maintenance will done according to mileage.

The reason I asked if the oil should be changed early or later for the initial change was reading about the metals that would be in the oil due to the engine breaking-in, but since it's not mentioned in the owners manual or any owners manual that I have read, it must not be a concern.

Thanks for the input on the Ford filters and oil, I'll be honest, it would've been my last choice, but I believe I'll use it during the warranty period. BTW, who manufactures Motorcraft oil?

Thanks for the input.
 
I'd assume the "special" oil filter Ford uses from the factory will take care of any problem break in metal.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
I'd assume the "special" oil filter Ford uses from the factory will take care of any problem break in metal.


..and they can tell whether the factory oil filter was even changed. When you come in at 35,000 miles with a blown engine swearing you've faithfully have been changing the oil and filter but lost the receipts
spankme2.gif
.

Whimsey
 
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
Originally Posted By: hatt
I'd assume the "special" oil filter Ford uses from the factory will take care of any problem break in metal.


..and they can tell whether the factory oil filter was even changed. When you come in at 35,000 miles with a blown engine swearing you've faithfully have been changing the oil and filter but lost the receipts
spankme2.gif
.

Whimsey


Seen it happen first hand. Customer tried to pull that with both a Ford rep and a Field Service Engineer on site, warranty was voided on the spot and the dealer was told to not provide any financial assistance to the customer.
 
Originally Posted By: cashmoney

it's a company car so who cares? really?...that how some people think? ...so glad that person doesn't work for me.


believe it or not there are people on this forum that do not have OCD.
 
Originally Posted By: Zero
Thanks for the input on the Ford filters and oil, I'll be honest, it would've been my last choice, but I believe I'll use it during the warranty period. BTW, who manufactures Motorcraft oil?

MC Filters are in the ~94% efficiency range at 20 microns (according to Amsoil testing ISO 4548-12) so you could do a lot worse. They are all that I have ran and have had no issues with them all the way out to 10K miles.

At last check, MC Oil was made by Conoco Phillips and is considered to be very good oil. There are other oils that are just as good for the same or less cost; shop around a little.
 
Originally Posted By: Zero
BTW, who manufactures Motorcraft oil?



Conoco Phillips
 
Originally Posted By: Whimsey
Originally Posted By: hatt
I'd assume the "special" oil filter Ford uses from the factory will take care of any problem break in metal.


..and they can tell whether the factory oil filter was even changed. When you come in at 35,000 miles with a blown engine swearing you've faithfully have been changing the oil and filter but lost the receipts
spankme2.gif
.

Whimsey


And the yellow oil!

Granted after 35000 miles, the yellow / green dyed oil is probably black. Or gone.
 
Originally Posted By: Danno
I run a large fleet (300+) of 5.4L Fords. I use 5W-20 and Motorcraft filters. We do the OCI at 6,000 miles from new. I have many over 150,000 miles without an oil related engine issue. They typically run at about 9,500 lbs GVW with a ton of wind resistance. I have them top speed governed to 65 MPH though ....


This is more or less the Ford party line--there is a break-in period which Ford describes as variable speeds and few full-throttle accelerations. I read that as city driving. Ford does not recommend an extra early oil change. Honda, which knows a thing or two about making durable engines is adamant about not prematurely changing the factory fill. I can't believe there would be that much difference between one manufacturer and the next.

Ran a UOA on my first Motorcraft 5w-20 semisyn at 5K after an initial 4500 mile run with factory fill. That is, at the 9500 mark. Still had 2.0 tbn viscosity well within specs, undissolved solids within specs. 90% city driving with many trips less than 4 miles. Fairly difficult conditions, in other words. I doubt the factory fill score would have been materially different. A 6K change is conservative.
 
Last edited:
Our oldest truck is an 04 with a half a million miles on it! No smoke, no leaks and no usage at all.

Every single change was done via OLM.

Sure didn't hurt it much, eh?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top