New Guy here. I think I've been doing it wrong...

[samuse]

Yup. I think I may have been going too long on my oil.

I bought a new 2011 F150 with the 5.0 last July (love it BTW).

I've been changing the oil every 10K miles using 5w20 Valvoline White Bottle and a Wix filter. But my 10K miles involved a LOT of idling ALL DAY for 6 days a week (100+ degrees out and I need to be in my truck with the AC on) and a lot of off-road driving and I tend to hit the governor at least once a day on the highway and generally cruise at around 80-85 mph.

Aaaand on top of that, during each OCI, I've needed to add a quart of oil at around 7K miles. So for the past two OCIs I topped it off with Lucas Synthetic Oil additive (it's expensive so it must bee good right?) The first two times I topped it off I used 5w20 VWB.

On a positive note, I've never towed/hauled anything with the truck and I very rarely floor it. I almost always manage to keep it under 3K RPM.

It now has almost 50K miles on it and I'm almost due for another oil change.

For some reason I stumbled on this site and got to reading and now I'm all nervous about my motor/oil.

I already have another 8 quarts of regular 5w20 Valvoline and a Wix filter purchased.

What does the hive think about what I've been doing, and what should I do next?

 

[Sixxer]

I don't think you have done much harm. Honestly without a UOA I wouldn't go past 4k on conventional and 6k on synthetic. If It was my truck I would use the white bottle I have left and switch to Mobil one, Pennzoil Platinum, or Ultra with a PureONE filter and run it for 5-6k. I would get an analysis done and go from there.

 

[tig1]

Go with a quality synthetic like M1 and 10K OCI won't be a problem. Doing 10K with a dino will in time at least cause varnish and maybe ring coking.

 

[Sixxer]

Id also check the PCV valve, and keep up with your other routine maintenance. If you would like take a picture looking down the oil fill hole and see if there is anything crazy. I would run the white bottle for 3k to clean it and switch to synthetic for the extended OCI.

 

[CarbonSteel]

My 2010 has a different engine in it, but I would not push any conventional to 10K without a series of UOAs. You would be merely guessing as to how bad (or good) the oil is at 10K without a UOA.

Obviously, there are synthetics that can go to 10K without much issue, but is the 5.0 a DI engine? Do these engines not have issues with buildup in the intake runners in the head? A more conservative approach may be in order--not saying that anything is wrong at this point, but you may want to consider the overall style of use before stretching to 10K OCIs.

The only other thought is the use of the Lucas additives--are they compatible with the additive pack of the VWB? I would take a sample at 8K and see where I stood and increase from there. I would also curtail the use of additives--modern oils simply do not need them.

Just my thoughts...

 

[KCJeep]

I'd be nervous too, 10k is a stretch for some synthetics.

Nothing wrong with VWB just shorten your OCI's and use it up, that'll give you plenty of more time to read here on BITOG.

Oh and welcome!

 

[jjcom]

Nothing wrong with VWB, just not good for those kinds of intervals. I'd do a shortish oil change this round just to clean out anything that maybe left behind, say 3k miles just to be safe. Then if you're wanting to do 10k OCI, start using Mobil 1 EP or Pennzoil Ultra and you should be set. You can run a UOA if you're wanting to be sure. PP or plain Mobil 1 could probably also do those intervals, but seeing the extended idle and fast speeds, I'd probably lean toward using something a little more stout just to be safe.

Now if you want to stick with VWB, just dial the OCI back to 5k and you should be fine that way too. Just depends on what you're wanting to do.

 

[SuperDave456]

+1 On the short OCI followed up with either shorter OCI's with Dino or Synthetics with longer OCI's


What does the user manual say about your engine?
I was thinking that your 2011 was one of those Turbocharged Direct Injected jobs that they came out with.

I also thought that those things came from the factory with Synthetic and Required Synthetic due to the high temps that come with an oil cooled Turbocharger.

I could be wrong though. Check your Manual and report back.

Inquiring minds want to know!

 

[volk06]

Originally Posted By: SuperDave456
+1 On the short OCI followed up with either shorter OCI's with Dino or Synthetics with longer OCI's


What does the user manual say about your engine?
I was thinking that your 2011 was one of those Turbocharged Direct Injected jobs that they came out with.

I also thought that those things came from the factory with Synthetic and Required Synthetic due to the high temps that come with an oil cooled Turbocharger.

I could be wrong though. Check your Manual and report back.

Inquiring minds want to know!


The 5.0 is not DI or an ecoboost engine. Even if it was an ecoboost, it does not require synthetic, conventionals and synblends meet the spec. It came from the factory with Motorcraft synblend.

 

[Spector]

What does the manual say as to OCI? I would agree a dino pushed to 10,000 may be a little harsh but doubt any damage done. Ford does use the synthetic blend when it does the oil changes but even that pushed to 10,000 in your conditions may be a little long. Perhaps a quality synthetic should be tried

 

[samuse]

I double checked the owners manual and it did say that extensive idling, extensive slow and high speed driving, dusty conditions and off-road driving required a 5,000 mile oil change interval.

I've been going by the oil change reminder that comes on every 10K. I thought that it calculated oil life, but now I think that's only on the fancier models.

I think I'm also ready to change the ATF and filter. Any recommendations there?

 

[ABerns]

You may be surprised with how a UOA turns out, but I would certainly want to run one before taking VWB to 10k miles.

But I would be willing to bet that, in the year you've been changing oil at 10k, you have done no measurable harm to your truck as far as its life is concerned. An oil-related failure will almost certainly not be what finishes the truck off. Which is saying something considering you are in Texas, where cars don't actually rust out from under you

 

[CarbonSteel]

Originally Posted By: samuse
I think I'm also ready to change the ATF and filter. Any recommendations there?

I changed mine at 13K and 67K (I tow frequently) and the Ford Mercon LV looked good on both UOAs. I would go OEM; I do not think there is anything to be gained by using 3rd party components in these transmissions.

 

[mechtech2]

How can you 'hit the governor' at least once a day, yet say you rarely floor it and keep it under 3000 RPM?
therefore I mistrust what you say.

10k is too long . Go 5k with that oil.

 

[Solarent]

If it was me I would do the following:

1- Change your oil as planned using the oil and filter you have already purchased.
2- Keep a sample of the used oil and get it tested.
3- If the lab flags items as high, do another change at 5K and also get it sampled to compare. If not then do it at 7K.
4- Depending on what results you get on your second UOA, decide whether its better to change more often or use a synthetic.
5- Do more UOA's on your next 2 changes just to confirm your results (need to have a couple of consistent OCI's to see the overall trend).
IMO it would be better to top off with VWB over Lucas - but you do what you want.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: mechtech2
How can you 'hit the governor' at least once a day, yet say you rarely floor it and keep it under 3000 RPM?
therefore I mistrust what you say.

10k is too long . Go 5k with that oil.




I noticed that too, something is fishy here.

 

[Ddub]

Reading through the responses, you have not received any bad advice here. Now my 2 cents. Do a shortish OCI with your current oil and filter arrangement, and then if you WANT to extend your OCIs to the 7.5-10K range, do it with a quality synthetic and a robust filter. Personally, I've used PureOne and Bosch Premium filters for OCIs in the 5-6K range, but have swithced to Bosch Distance Plus filters now that I am in the 7-7.5K range. I truly do not know if it makes a big difference, but I feel better about it, and if you look for sales/rebates there is not that much of a cost premium.

 

[samuse]

Originally Posted By: KrisZ
Originally Posted By: mechtech2
How can you 'hit the governor' at least once a day, yet say you rarely floor it and keep it under 3000 RPM?
therefore I mistrust what you say.

10k is too long . Go 5k with that oil.




I noticed that too, something is fishy here.


How is that fishy? I live in rural South Texas, 50 feet above sea-level with lots of flat, straight highways where I can ease into it and build up speed until it hits 95. It doesn't take that long and the motor makes plenty of power at around 2,750. It's 32 miles from my front door to where I'm working right now with ONE stop sign on the entire trip.

With 3.55 gears I'm barely turning 2,500 at 95.

 

[samuse]

I still had the receipt for the oil I had so I went to Oreilly at lunch and swapped it out for Mobil 1 5w20.

 

[A_Harman]

Yeah, the consensus on this board is that VWB is not a long-drain oil because it starts out with low TBN. 6.1 if I'm remembering correctly. So limit the OCI on VWB to 6k.

Nix on the Lucas oil stabilizer. It's probably turning the 5w20 into ?w30.

You put 50k miles on your truck in 14 months? If you're driving it that much, you'll make yourself crazy doing oil changes every 6-8 weeks. Sounds like a candidate for a long-life synthetic such as AMSoil or M1 EP. AMSoil says their Signature Series oils will go 25k miles.