Transit 15k OCI

[Brice]

I was reading some Ford commercial documents at work and noticed this blurb about extending the 3.5PFDI oil change interval from 10k to 15k miles. Do we think they actually did anything to accomplish this or just reprogrammed the computer? I'm hoping at least some research went into this and it wasn't a pure marketing decision. 15k miles seems like a lot on a work van that lives a hard life. Especially if it's motorcraft syn blend.

 

[atikovi]

It looks great in the brochure, a low maintenance vehicle that only needs oil changes every 15K. It will probably make it out of the warranty period OK, but seeing the stuff Ford has produced lately, I'm not too sure about that. And will it make it to 200K and beyond without major engine work?

 

[Kira]

Believers are gathering on both sides of the "15K line".

I gotta research SAT (Smart Acceleration Truncation).

 

[SwampSurvivor]

It looks great in the brochure, a low maintenance vehicle that only needs oil changes every 15K.

Exactly. Large businesses are pushing everything to operational expenses. The only thing the business owns is its intellectual property. That means leased equipment ( computers, manufacturing , vehicles). For the "sale" of the lease, maintenance isn't important. Ford will make their money on the van leasing it, then offloading the returned lease to someone else.

 

[Pablo]

There is no reason a well designed and tuned engine shouldn't be able to go 15K on a good oil.

I have seen it happen too many times to think otherwise.

That said, I know nothing of this engine and tuning.

 

[Brice]

Looks like the manual does state the drain & fill capacity is 12 quarts. So that certainly helps the cause.

 

[atikovi]

Looks like the manual does state the drain & fill capacity is 12 quarts. So that certainly helps the cause.

Where do you see that? Ford 3.5s usually take 6 quarts.

 

[eagle14]

Looks like the manual does state the drain & fill capacity is 12 quarts. So that certainly helps the cause.

If the sump capacity is 3X normal, it's reasonable to extend oil changes accordingly.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

Looks like the manual does state the drain & fill capacity is 12 quarts. So that certainly helps the cause.

So they did the supporting upgrades then. That's part of the reason diesels have had longer changes listed for so long; double or triple the oil capacity on passenger vehicles.

 

[Warlord]

Unless it’s a typo the NA 3.5 has double the capacity of the ecoboost. I would have thought it would be the other way around if anything.

 

[JavierH19]

wow 12 quarts of capacity is double that of my 6.0 v8 and i stretch the 15w-40 to almost 10k. With that capacity i can honestly believe that.

 

[atikovi]

I was reading some Ford commercial documents at work and noticed this blurb about extending the 3.5PFDI oil change interval from 10k to 15k miles.

View attachment 145058View attachment 145057
Unless it’s a typo the NA 3.5 has double the capacity of the ecoboost. I would have thought it would be the other way around if anything.

So is the OP talking about the Ecoboost or Duratec 3.5L? Still find it hard to believe they would have a 12 quart oil pan on a 3.5l engine and that it isn't a misprint.

 

[Warlord]

So is the OP talking about the Ecoboost or Duratec 3.5L? Still find it hard to believe they would have a 12 quart oil pan on a 3.5l engine and that it isn't a misprint.

The fact that they mention the dipstick is a 2l range as opposed to 1l on the ecoboost page makes me think it’s no misprint.

 

[ZZman]

Being the Transit is a commercial use vehicle it doesn't surprise me the sump is bigger.

 

[Brice]

So is the OP talking about the Ecoboost or Duratec 3.5L? Still find it hard to believe they would have a 12 quart oil pan on a 3.5l engine and that it isn't a misprint.

3.5 PFDI would be the Duratec.

 

[walterjay]

My Transits use 6 qts.

 

[Warlord]

Being the Transit is a commercial use vehicle it doesn't surprise me the sump is bigger.

True but why no big sump on the ecoboost I wonder?

 

[ATex7239]

Most Transits are leased vehicles for business use I imagine. Meaning the vehicle will be turned in 3-5 years. Businesses do not care what happens to the engine after they are done with it. And are not going to take on added operational costs for the next owner’s benefit nor should they. Ford knows this and likely is marketing accordingly.

 

[redhat]

OK if thats the case, with a 12qt sump I can see that far of an OCI.

Price wise, I can't imagine a 6qt + filter and a 12qt + filter being the same price. But no one buying these vans would probably dig this deep into them and hinge their fleet on that.

Every 15k would keep a van on the road longer though with less maintenance intervals.

 

[atikovi]

3.5 PFDI would be the Duratec.

Umm...the Ecoboost is the same. From Google:


Does Ford 3.5 EcoBoost have direct injection?


3.5l Ecoboost™ V6

Features include the Ford port-fuel and direct-injection (PFDI) system with two injectors per cylinder — one in the air intake port, another inside the cylinder — to increase performance.