Alright everyone. I don't want to open a can of worms here. Two questions to put out there. My truck is a '14 Eco with 970 miles on the clock now.

First. When did you do your first oil change on your EB. My initial plan was to do oil changes every 5k. I've been checking out posts on f150ecoboost.net and the general opinion over there is to do the initial change at 1k and every 5 thereafter. So I'm asking for labnerds help on this one. Have you seen analyses with an early oil change? Has anyone seen any benefit to this?

Second question is how many of you are running catch cans? There is a pretty heated debate over there about the benefit and efficacy of a catch can, and as always there is a brand loyalty debate (RX vs UPR). Opinions on catch cans are welcome.

I know there may not be much info out there about the'14s, as Ford changed the CAC internals to try to remedy the condensation issue. I don't know if the valve coking and PCV issues are still present on the '14s either. Any input from everyone is welcome.

 

The reason for the early oil change is get the manufacturing trash out of the engine. While they clean them up pretty good at the factory, there is still left over sealants and just dirt that comes with the new engine. WE depend on the oil filter to keep these things out of the internals of the engine but not all oil filters work at 40 microns absolute. Even the best made will throw an occasional bad filter. So rather than gamble on it, change the oil early and throw the trash out with the filter. I change mine at 1000 miles and again at 5000 miles and every 5000 after that. I'm driving a 3.7, not an EB. I'd also suggest the nose testing of the oil after 3500 miles. If you can smell gasoline, change the oil. Fuel dilution has been an issue with all brands of the DI engines, but not all of them have it.
Does it show up in spectroscopy? Yes, it will show the wear metals to be high. But there's never been a test of if effecting engine life.
I'd run the catch can. You want as little of any particulates or fluids from going into the intake. Unlike a sequential engine, the DI engines have nothing to clean the intake. This is considered a design defect and has been for decades. I have concerns that future EB owners are going to have issues with clogged intakes but only time will tell.

 

Thank you for the input, it is much appreciated! With the every 5k OCI is the Motorcraft semi-syn 5w30 sufficient? I know you are a fan of it. My goal with this truck is longevity, and avoiding any big internal motor issues is definitely on my mind. I'm not planning any huge mods like meth/water injection or anything like that. Probably a mild tune and upgraded CAC once it's out of warranty. Guess I'll have to ask my dealership service manager about warranty with the catch can.

 

Let me put it this way, IF I had an EB engine, there's only one oil I would put in it= Pennzoil Ultra 5w-30. It has the lowest NOACK of all of the oils including the high dollar boutique oils. It's not a cheap date and finding it is another issue. For any DI engine, it's imperative to use an oil that yields fewer particulates to the PCV system as it ends up in the intake with no means of removal. Ultra yields the lowest. Here's a list of how the oils stack up.
Ultra 6.6%
Mobil One 10.1%
PLatinum 9.3
SynPower 11.6
Super Tech 11.1
Royal Purple 10.9
QS Ultimate 8.8
Lucas Synthetic 14.9 (almost out of spec at 15%)
Kendall GT W/Titanium 10.9
Formula Shell 9.7
Castrol Edge 11.1
Amsoil OE 10.9
MotorCraft Blend 14.3

All are rated as synthetic except the MC, all are 5w-30 oils. Numbers are a percentage of the oils weight that evaporated off during the test.For any EcoBoost engine, the lower the percentage, the better for the intake system.

 

Thank you so much for your time. I guess the Pennzoil is the way to go, especially since I don't want to risk voiding my warranty with a catch can (hopefully my dealership is sympathetic to my plight). It just seems that the valve coking on these motors is inevitable without some mods done.

 

If it makes you feel better, a friend of mine just traded his 2012 EB in for a 2014. He's a heavy equipment salesman and always on the road. His truck had 230,000 miles on it. It still had factory everything on it and ran great.

 

Will a catch can affect the warranty?

 

That does make me feel better! Thanks Wookie!

Roadie, there seems to be some heated debate about this over at f150ecoboost.net The RX catch can rep of course says no, as there is protection under the Magnuson-Moss act for the warranty stuff. The flipside of the argument is that some guys have had warranty claims denied with a catch can installed (RX specifically) because it requires drilling into both turbo charge pipes and the air filter box. So they get told that the claim is denied because they tampered with the emissions system, and have federal emissions laws pulled on them.

Ford changed the internals on the CAC on the 14's by adding baffling inside that is supposed to keep the motor from ingesting a slug of condensation, and keep the other by product out of the motor. Does it work? Maybe... But I don't want a warranty claim/TSB denial for tampering with my emissions system if I ever get the shudder/limp mode fault from my motor pulling in a slug of garbage. As far as the valve coking goes, head relacement is the only fix authorized by Ford right now if it causes an issue.

 

I ordered 12 quarts of the Ultra 5W-30 and a fumoto valve off amazon and got the factory fill fill oil out at about 1200 miles. I will nose test it at 4700 to see if I can smell any fuel, and likely just change it, since it'll be so close to 5k on the motor. I'll also likely send a sample from this change in for an analysis.

 

Where did this data come from?

 

I found the ultra for $27 for 5qts. Thinkin that's a solid deal?

 

Labnerd just started a new thread with some new info:

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v6...-ecoboost.html

 

According to penzoil, platinum ultra is 11.5% and their synthetic platinum is 10.1

 

The information comes from the PQIA website. It does not require a license or permissions to get into it so feel free to search.
http://www.pqiamerica.com/

I'm still trying to get my head around the Yellow bottle blend beating out the synthetic based oils. Anyway, if you go to Pennzoil website and pull up any of the specs on any of their oils, you'll be reading "TYPICAL Physical Characteristics". These are not written in stone and the numbers represent the expected maximum. As tested for the particular samples bought from an open store is what you are reading at PQIA. Pennzoil or any other is an estimate of the maximum, PQIA is what is really in the bottle for THAT sample. Formulating oil is like cooking the same dinner. Sometimes it comes out fabulous and other times it's just okay.

FWIW Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and Pennzoil Platinum as such are no longer made. You will be buying Pennzoil Pure Plus Ultra Platinum or Pure Plus Platinum. They are not the same as the old formulations.
http://www.pennzoil.com/wp-content/u...F-5-en-TDS.pdf
http://www.pennzoil.com/wp-content/u...F-5-en-TDS.pdf

Another FWIW, if you have cold startups in temps of -25F or higher, the 10w-30 oils have a much lower NOACK and have a higher HT/HS rating. For a 5w oil tested at -30F the max cP is 6600. The 10w030 Pennzoil Platinum for example is tested at -25 (as are all 10w oils) and has a 4150 cP per ASTM 5293. So the 10w-30 synthetic branded motor oils from Pennzoil (cause I haven't had time to research others) is as good as most 5w oils at cold temps. The 10w-30 oils are speced for the EB engines in the Arab nations.

 

Would the thicker oil be used because of the higher temperatures they deal with? I know we have had to pull insulation bags and make a fan kit for Saudi aircraft because the temps in the avionics bay were getting too high. Aircraft on the ground were cooking equipment because the temps on the ramp.