New member here - 2014 F150 3.5 Ecoboost

[philosopheriam]

Ladies/Gentlemen,

My name is Anthony and I've been a lurker on these forums for some time. By trade, I am a heavy equipment mechanic.

Recently, I purchased a 2014 F150 4x4 with the 3.5L Ecoboost engine - thus far, I'm in love with it.

After browsing the forums, I read the numerous concerns about fuel dilution on these engines. Similarly, on many new tier 4 Diesel engines that use in-cylinder fuel dosing to burn soot from the DPF, fuel dilution of the oil has become a concern. Some manufacturers have responded by increasing the capacity of their oil pans, whereas others have chosen the "wait and see what happens" attitude and left their oil capacities/drain intervals unchanged.

In my opinion, I only begin to care about fuel dilution as it relates to the presence of increased wear metals in the UOA.

For my new truck, I have chosen to run 5w30 Pennzoil Ultra Platinum with an OCI for 5000mi. I chose this oil for the following reasons:

1. Picked up 6gal from Wally World for $27 per gallon, which seems like a good deal.
2. It meets the Ford specification outlined in my owners manual
3. According to info on this board, the additive package in this oil seems to handle fuel dilution better than others

As for the filter, I typically use OEM products - in this instance, the Motorcraft FL-500s is what I will be using.

At 960miles, I performed the first oil change - the truck currently has around 3800 miles. at 5960 miles, I will send an oil sample to Oil Analyzers, Inc. and report the results here. I'm curious as to what the reports will show.

Thanks for your indulgence!

 

[CT8]

I would hold off on the uoa until 15,000 or so miles all you will see is higher wear metals etc from the break in.

 

[philosopheriam]

Originally Posted By: CT8
I would hold off on the uoa until 15,000 or so miles all you will see is higher wear metals etc from the break in.


Excellent point!

 

[philosopheriam]

CORRECTION/

1. Picked up 6gal from Wally World for $27 per gallon, which seems like a good deal.
ACTUALLY, I picked up x6 5-qt jugs for $27 per jug.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

[BikeWhisperer]

I got a 2012 F150 with the Eco-Boost that I picked up used in January. I'm running Castrol Edge 5w-30 in it right now and got about 1500 miles on it so far. There is a slight fuel smell to the oil but so far I have not seen the oil level rise on the dipstick (there is a Ford TSB on some models where the fuel dilution is so bad that it "gains" oil). I plan on a 5k OCI and a UOA to see if I should stick with 5k or can push it to a 7.5k OCI.

FYI-I would recommend checking your filter media too, there have been a few Motorcraft filters with torn media posted on BITOG. I'm sure most will have no issues but it would be worth a look.

 

[dnewton3]

Originally Posted By: philosopheriam
In my opinion, I only begin to care about fuel dilution as it relates to the presence of increased wear metals in the UOA.


Although you may have lurked here, and recently joined, you clearly do not understand the manner in which UOAs are regarded here.

They are toys, not tools. They are used as anecdotal evidence to influence the unknowing into all manner of acts including, but not limited to, spending horrendous amounts of hard-earned currency on the "best" of everything from lubes to filters. Further, once UOA data is reviewed, it is to be promptly ignored in favor of emotional attachment and internet rhetoric heavily biased with marketing manure.

What manner of man are you, sir (with an acknowledgement to gender presumption included), that you state you're going to use the UOA as a pragmatic indicator of wear, utilizing information and common sense to procure value from said expenditure? Why should you eschew the panic of fuel dilution in favor of actually looking at data that speaks directly to the longevity of equipment? Do you not understand that predictors (fuel dilution, flash point, vis, insolubles, etc) should be as "perfect" as possible and therefore any deviation from that desired state is cause for alarm and an automatic OCI?



Your "new" BITOG anal-retentive-oil-changer membership card is hereby put on probation. You are now on double-secret probation.