New Ford Explorer Oil Recomendations

[WDP]

Finally going to get a new vehicle, 04 Explorer with 4.0 OHC. Been a long time for such a purchase so here are my intentions oil and filter wise. As seen here some where, run it hard, full throttle every opportunity, coast after for the first 300 miles. Change the oil and filter, at 300 miles to remove the manfacturing metals, please recommend a good dino oil to complete the break-in, or how about M1? I have Amsoil SDF 15 filters left over from the previous vehicle for use. When is a good time to change over to Amsoil syn? Thanks in advance. WDP

 

[williar]

My recommendations: Go easy on the break-in for the first 1K miles. Change the oil at 1st scheduled oil change and use Motorcraft 0w20. Next oil change, go to synthetic.

 

[DavoNF]

Here is one point of view on breaking-in new engines. http://mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm As for the oil, I would go with the manufacturers recommendations, at least for the warranty period Dave

 

[Jeffrey Behr]

Dave and I and WPD are apparently quite together on the goodness of driving hard (on and off!) during break-in; I sure did it with my Porsche Cayenne Turbo--and caught lots of flak for it, too, from the guys who believe more as williar does. I followed mototuneusa's recommendations as closely as I could, straight from the pickup at the dealer. I drained the factory fill of M1 0W-40 at 33 miles and ran 3 fills of Mobil Driveclean 5W-30 thru about 2000 miles. I'd use some name-brand dead-dino oil (I think it makes little difference which you choose) of the recommended viscosity and then use a full synthetic with a hot viscosity 1 grade thicker than what I assume is Ford's normal 5W-20 recommendation...IOW, 5W-30.

 

[FordSVTGuy]

I have a 2002 Explorer with the same engine. I use Havoline Synthetic with 5,000 mile oil change intervals. I use a Wix/Napa Gold filter and could not be happier. You can find Havoline Syn on sale at Advanced Auto for $3.78 per quart fairly regularly. When I see it I stock up.

 

[WDP]

Thanks Dano for the link. I used to build motorcycle racing engines and used the run hard break in and synthetic oils long before they were as popular as they are today. My "ring-a-dings" would last a whole racing season without a single ring change, while most of the guys were swaping rings every 2-3 races and pistons every other ring change. They would still "stick one" every now and then. THEY never figured out why I paid $8.00 a quart (1976) for 2 stroke full syn oil. I hope that the engine doesn't have too many delivery miles on it from dealer to dealer, or hopefully some testosterone invigorated teen gets to move it lot to lot. WDP

 

[JohnnyO]

quote:

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Originally posted by williar: Change the oil at 1st scheduled oil change and use Motorcraft 0w20. Next oil change, go to synthetic.

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The 4.0 SOHC is one of the few engines where Ford does not specify 5w-20. FYI, I have a Ranger with the same engine, everybody in my truck club that has one has found that the 4.0 SOHC takes a good 10k to break in and loosen up a little. On mine I changed the oil with dino at 2500 then put Mobil 1 5w-30 in at 5k and every 5k since.

 

[mikemc]

Assuming the 4.0 still calls for 5w30, I would say go with a Motorcraft filter and Motorcraft 5w30 oil, both found at Walmart. Chevron or Havoline would work also. I don't see a need to drain the factory oil before 2,000 miles, but this is a hot topic and its not so costly to do earlier with the above mentioned oils/filter. You can switch to syn about anytime you like, but unless you like in arctic conditions, I'm not convinced it necessary given today's great dino oils. [ March 22, 2004, 07:07 AM: Message edited by: mikemc ]

 

[TheLoneRanger]

WDP, it's unbelievable how much manufacturing residue is in a new engine. There's gasket and sealer debris, and tiny bits of metal that's broken off when the engine was first started. If it were mine, I'd change the oil immediately after driving it home.

 

[Dick in Falls Church]

>>>I have Amsoil SDF 15 filters left over from the previous vehicle for use. When is a good time to change over to Amsoil syn? Better check on the filters. Think the newer ones with 4.0 use SDF 11 with different thread. You can change to AMSOIL the day you bring it home, though I usually recommend doing it at first oil change interval--probably 3-5,000 miles.

 

[WDP]

Thanks Dick, haven't seen the car or an owners manual yet, but I have the SDF 11's for my pickumup truck.It won't take too long for the wife to pile up 300 miles, about 2 days. Just long enough to get Motorcraft oil at Wally World. I will disect the orginal filter and check the drainings for metal/other junk- stay tuned.Thanks to all who answered my post. WDP

 

[drm7]

I have an '03 Mazda B4000, same engine as the Explorer. I broke it in with a mix of hard and soft driving. I changed oil at 800 miles to GTX 5w30. Then again at 3000 miles. At 5000 miles I switched to M1 5w30 and every 5000 since. I currently have 12,000 miles on it. I haven't noticed any oil usage and it seems to perform just fine. The severe duty oil change is rated for 3000 miles with regular duty changes rated 5000. I drive 20 miles to work and mostly country roads around 55mph so I'm doing the 5000 mile change and shouldn't have any trouble warranty wise based on my commute. I will say that these 5spd auto trans "feel" like they have more power loss than other autos I've owned. They lock in 3rd and 4th at too low of speeds in my opinion and stay locked even under 2000 rpm and seem to lug. I would prefer more frequent downshifts to avoid the lugging. JMO.

 

[Jeffrey Behr]

quote:

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Originally posted by drm7: I have an '03 Mazda B4000... ...I will say that these 5spd auto trans "feel" like they have more power loss than other autos I've owned. They lock in 3rd and 4th at too low of speeds in my opinion and stay locked even under 2000 rpm and seem to lug. I would prefer more frequent downshifts to avoid the lugging. JMO.

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I had a '99 Grandokee with the then-new 4.7L V8 and the 4/5-speed auto-trans. It was TERRIBLE about that, locking the torque converter way too early. Even if switched out of OD, it'd still upshift too soon and lock too soon. Of course one could tap the brake pedal and it'd unlock, but then way too quickly it'd lock again. I finally 'traded' it for a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. It has the smartest auto-trans I've ever driven.

 

[JohnnyO]

I prefer a stick, but my previous Ranger got wrecked (not my fault, other guy ran a stop sign and hit me...hard) so I had to get another one and all they had were automatics. [ March 22, 2004, 07:03 PM: Message edited by: JohnnyO ]

 

[drm7]

yeah, going up a hill with it locked and lugging I lift my foot then apply the gas again and it will unlock but what a PITA. My wife has an '03 Mazda MPV with the 3.0 V6 Duratec and a true 5 spd auto and it is ALWAYS in the right gear. It will drop gears on any incline and hold the gear all the way to the top of the hill. It will even drop 2 gears if necessary and hold 3500+ rpm. I'd love to drive the Mazda 6 with this combo and see how it feels. My old Cherokee 4.0 would "hunt" on hills. (sorry for the hijack) I hope to test my 5000 mile OCI and M1 5w30 on my next interval, 15k-20k. It will be warmer and I will have run about 15k miles on M1. Should be pretty well broken in.

 

[Jeffrey Behr]

quote:

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Originally posted by TheLoneRanger: WDP, it's unbelievable how much manufacturing residue is in a new engine. There's gasket and sealer debris, and tiny bits of metal...

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...plus sand from the casting processes. It's simply impossible for a factory to wash ALL that stuff out of an engine. WPD, I recommend you change the oil in your brand-new Ford the same way the Dems vote in Cook County--early and often. Engineoil, especially dead-dino stuff, and filters are inexpensive--engines are not. I'd use the recommended-viscosity oil, apparently 5W-30, during this break-in period and change oil and filter at somewhere around 200, 500, and 2000 miles. If you agree with JohnnyO about the 4L SOHC engine requiring a little more time to break in than other engines, run the next batch of oil to about 5000 before switching to the synthetic of your choice. Personally, I would and do use Red Line, but there are lots of excellent synthetic engineoils out there.

 

[james1]

I have an '03 Explorer with the other engine. The owner's manual is the same for both and it recommends to vary engine speed and avoid prolonged running at any one speed for the first 1,000 miles. That is the only break in info mentioned. Also, count me as another person not too thrilled with the 5 speed tranny. It seems that I have to be more aggressive with the gas to get a comfortable run through the gears, but of course that sort of runs counter to the fuel saving purpose of having 5 speeds.

 

[JohnnyO]

I got told (not sure how true) that the 5 spd auto doesn't actually run through all 5 gears, but there are two 2nd gears and the computer decides which one to use.

 

[james1]

I have an '03 Explorer with the other engine. The owner's manual is the same for both and it recommends to vary engine speed and avoid prolonged running at any one speed for the first 1,000 miles. That is the only break in info mentioned. Also, count me as another person not too thrilled with the 5 speed tranny. It seems that I have to be more aggressive with the gas to get a comfortable run through the gears, but of course that sort of runs counter to the fuel saving purpose of having 5 speeds.

 

[drm7]

Correct. It's more like a 4spd auto with 2 second gears. The computer determines which gear to used based on load and throttle position. The alternate second gear is a lower gear, used in towing and hard acceleration. I would prefer a true 4spd or a true 5spd but overall it seems to be a good trans, just locks up too soon and doesn't downshift early enough.