2017 2.3 Ecoboost Explorer

[Whimsey]

My wife just purchased the subject vehicle. It's too nice and techie for me

. The 2.3 Ecoboost with the 6 speed AT is real powerful, even compared to her currant 2005 Explorer with the 4.6 V-8. She plans on keeping this one a long time like her 2005 Explorer which now has 193,000 miles but runs great. That one now is my "new" vehicle

. The 2.3 Ecoboost is direct injection and turbo, so I assume it's tougher on the oil than her 4.6 was. Her driving is mainly fast highway, with some bumper to bumper and local driving. It has an oil life minder that varies depending on various driving conditions. According to the OM it can go from 3,000 miles to a mandatory change at 1 year or 10,000 miles, all on MC 5W-30 Synthetic Blend oil. But they "offer" the option to use their MC full synthetic 5W-30 instead of the blend, for the same mileage. I've never seen that before in their OM's. Considering the vehicle engine is DI & Turbo and the desire/need to keep this vehicle for many miles and years I'm open to oil suggestions, that carry the Ford spec'd oil, WSS=M2C946-A, as her warranty is for 7 years, 125,000 miles. I'm open to suggestions for oils that will provide a long life yet meet Ford spec's for the next 125,000 miles following the oil life minder. I'm going to change the FF at 2,500 mi with more MC Blend. I will then change the MC blend at 7,500 mi total, with 5,000 on the oil. I'll do an UOA on that drain. After she'll use the oil life minder. For that I'd just feel more comfortable using a synthetic if the oil life minder has us going over 5,000 mile OCI's.

Whimsey

 

[Kuato]

Love the early changes.

DI and turbo? 5w30 for sure. Choose a good synthetic, determine a UOA distance based on her driving habits and don't look back.

 

[steve20]

Nice vehicle for Mrs. Whim---we almost bought one too for my wife.
Your plan for early changes gets a big thumbs-up if you plan on keeping the vehicle.
I don't have a favorite 5-30 syn., I'll use anything except M-1.
Steve

 

[IndyFan]

I run Mobil 1 EP 5w30 in my Transit's Ecoboost. I'm not too worried about it. I'm going with the OLM and think this engine will do well with the EP. These Ecoboost engines are really something. The 3.5 really throws our big van around with little effort.

 

[Onug]

The EB engines seem to be a little hard on motor oil, especially sheering. My first UOA on my 2016 F-150 3.5 EB suggested the 5W-30 M1 might be wearing faster than the OLM was tracking. It may also be the M1 oil; the vibe here is it's not the best oil in the EBs. That's a first for me, as M1 as been a great oil in my past rigs (2013 Explorer (3.5 NA engine) and 2010 F-350 V10) and tracked well to the OLM as shown in the UOA's I performed. I'm still gathering facts and data, so I don't have any solid evidence yet. I'm running M1 now and I've got another box in the garage I'm going to use up, but then I'm going to switch to something else and compare the UOAs.

I do think a full synthetic is the only way to go with these engines. And I agree with running a UOA at around 5,000 miles (or 50% oil life) is a great idea to make sure the oil is holding up and tracking against the OLM.

 

[bbhero]

Based on a number of UOAs I would think that Castrol Magnatec seemed to hold up viscosity @ 100°C and held its TBN level up quite well too. If you believe in the wear metals part of the reports then Castrol Magnatec did very good as well in those VOAs.

 

[Camprunner]

Originally Posted By: bbhero
Based on a number of UOAs I would think that Castrol Magnatec seemed to hold up viscosity @ 100°C and held its TBN level up quite well too. If you believe in the wear metals part of the reports then Castrol Magnatec did very good as well in those VOAs.


I have to agree Ford EB's seem to shine on Castrol Magnatec 5w30 I would do a good run on this and do a UOA It would not surprise me if it looks stellar.

 

[gregk24]

I would run a name brand synthetic carrying the proper Ford spec, Mobil 1 should do the trick. Also, its pretty awesome that we have small 4 banger turbo's powering todays SUV's. They would probably still scoot past previous gens with V8's.

 

[FCD]

Can you get Castrol GTX Magnatec 5W30 in the states? i would use that.

 

[Whimsey]

Originally Posted By: FordCapriDriver
Can you get Castrol GTX Magnatec 5W30 in the states? i would use that.


Yes I can, even Walmart carries it at a good price. Thanks for everybody's suggestions. As I said I'll change the factory fill out at 2,500 miles, refill with MC 5W-30 blend for an OCI of 5,000 miles at 7,500 miles on the vehicle. I'll do an UOA on this oil change and refill with Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 and change that according to the oil life monitor. I'll also do an UOA on that oil, should be interesting as we've never owned a DI engine no less a turbo DI engine vehicle.

Whimsey

 

[bigt61]

IMO - you don't need to change the FF early - it helps the engine to break in properly. I would run the FF to OLM, then another run of MC synblend to OLM. After that the full synthetic of your choice to the OLM. Easy and the engine should break in normally. As always, keep it topped off.

 

[ndfergy]

You'll want an oil with a magnesium/calcium DI pkg to prevent/mitigate LSPI events. Lower Noack is always good but less of a concern with deposit formation if supplemental port injection is used, which I believe the Ecoboost now has. Because of the high power density of this engine and soot formation with turbos oxidation and wear are a concern. I would not do extended oil changes regardless of what your oil monitor says. 5000 miles would be my limit. I would also keep your transmission in sport mode, if you have it, for tooling around town. This helps keep your engine out of lower rpm's which further mitigates any possible LSPI events.

I would recommend plain Jane Mobil 1 5W30

 

[Onug]

Originally Posted By: ndfergy
...if supplemental port injection is used, which I believe the Ecoboost now has.


I think the new 2nd Gen 3.5L EB is the only platform with both port and direct injection. But maybe Ford has rolled that into the smaller engines too.

 

[ndfergy]

Originally Posted By: Onug
Originally Posted By: ndfergy
...if supplemental port injection is used, which I believe the Ecoboost now has.


I think the new 2nd Gen 3.5L EB is the only platform with both port and direct injection. But maybe Ford has rolled that into the smaller engines too.


You're right, there's no additional port injection in the 2.3

 

[SR5]

Castrol Magnatec 5W-30 semi-synthetic is SN, Dexos1 and WSS-M2C946-A rated.

It's been returning great UOA in Ecoboost engines
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4313455/1
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4117948/1
https://bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/4317342/1


Yep, I would change the FF after a few thousand miles, but keep the original filter in, which should be good to 10,000 miles and filters work better with age (within reason). If it's caught stuff, it's not going anywhere. But this new car thing is very personal, do what makes you happy.

Congrats on the new ride.