Thanks guys for all the info. I just like babying my truck. She deserves the best and if I could afford it why not. And if its not the best then they got the best of me along with million's of other people.

 

So whats your decision??

 

Motorcraft

 

Good choice..

 

amsoil dual filters-

 

Motorcraft: FL-820S

 

You are giving away how young you are.

Say in 1950 or1960 or 1970 or 1980 or 1990 the dealer’s recommendations were pretty poor. You could always buy a MUCH better filter and oil for MUCH less than the dealers products.

When I was selling parts in 1980 the A/C and Motorcraft were about halfway up the quality list. The oil choices that the big three sold as theirs were also about halfway up the list.

So for lots less you could buy lots better.

In the 50's through 80's this was almost always true.

Starting in the mid to late 80's the engines started requiring much higher quality oil products and thus the makers started using better and better products.
Part of this was driven by the CAFE, part was driven by the higher cost of engine work that the dealer might have to shoulder.

So while none of the big three actually make their own oil or filters, they tend to buy products further up the food chain now.

Lots of cars now ship with Mobile 1 oil. In 50-60-70-80-90 you were lucky if they came with Pennzoil...

Chris

 

My bottom radiator hose basically rests on the oil filter. If you are using a rack or a pit to change the filter it doesn't matter much as you have plenty of access.
I lie on the creeper and reach at arms length to remove the filter.
A folding head wrench will just barely slip on the end and it's a bear to turn as the handle has to be parallel with the filter.

I have several top clamp type filter sockets but each one interferes with the radiator hose to an extent that it's not worth trying.

I could lift the front of the truck, put jack stands under it and then it would be fairly easy. That is, if you consider adding ten minutes and extra lifting/etc. easy.

If I was tiny (I'm just under 6'4'', 244 Lbs) I could easily get under the truck without lifting the front.
I'm not tiny.
Chris

 

Wow. I did sound a little young there. You are absolutely correct with component quality building in with drivetrain requirements as of lately (<15 yrs). I do think, however, that today's younger drivers are fairly impressionable in terms of marketing (like me about 16 years ago). If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is. People seem to want to offer only the best money can buy for their beloved ride, but there are some things that are already great for the price (oil/filters in this case). I try not to be drawn into the "I've got a better oil" brand since I will never see the benefits of such items with the way I drive.

 

Yeah, guys love to take things to the limits don't we.

The thing is, these modular Ford engines are extra sensitive to oil filters and oil.
This is caused by several simple factors.
The oils used are very thin.
The oils used are semi to full synthetic.
Such oils drain back off of engine parts much quicker than the oils of yesteryear.

The cams, followers and phasors all of which must be oiled constantly, are a LONG way from the oil pan.
Yet these need the most oil at startup, when the new thin oil wants to be at the bottom of the engine, not the top.

Ford mounts its filters sideways, rather than down, thus allowing oil to drain back out of the filter over time.

If you use a filter that does not have an adequate drain back valve (adequate to Ford’s standard, not just adequate in the regular sense) when you start the engine the oil is out of the filter, back into the oil pan. The couple seconds needed for the oil to be slurped up and shipped to the top of the engine results in bad rattles. So no matter how little you drive, or how often you change your oil, if the oil drains back your engine will rattle, worrying or embarrassing you.

It will also be getting a HUGE amount of wear on startup. Startup is where most engine wear takes place.
Imagine the increase in this normal wear when every cold start is like the first start after an oil change.

So the proper filter on this truck is essential.

Quality of the filter, quality of the design, etc. are all important, but almost immaterial if the drain back valve isn’t working right.

Ford knows this and makes sure the ‘Motorcraft’ branded filters are up to the task. Purolator and Champion Labs have recently been making Fords stock filters and are doing it right. Most the others ain’t.
Chris

 

Chria Adams:
I use Motorcraft filters because of the anti-drainback valve and Mobil 1 because I think it is cheap insurance. Even so I still had cam phaser and lifter replacement under warranty at 34,000. I hated that after oil change rattle because you cannot prefill the oil filter except to about half full because it has to be tipped to install. After the first two oil changes I read on this site how to floor the gas pedal and turn the key for 10 seconds to pump the filter full the rest of the way. It will not start until you release the gas pedal and no more start-up rattle.

I sympathize with you big guys that cannot slide uinder without jacking it up, I am a skinny guy (at least for now) and can still do it.

 

I get the filter & oil changed for $20.00 with a coupon at the FORD dealer.

 

Hi, bogman. Sorry you had the cam phaser problem, even with the great oil and filter. I think that was more a product failure, not oil related. No matter what you used or did that would have happened. A bad part is a bad part.

I pre fill the oil filter till it's full. The anti drainback feature stops it from leaking oil as I angle it in. After topping it up completely, I tip it over the oil drain pan and spill off the tablespoon of excess oil, and then mount it.
The trick of holding the pedal to the floor when starting is useful, but on one of my vehicles it doesn't work... So I don't have the habit...

To anyone reading who might be confused, the anti-drainback valve is not relevant to first start after an oil change. It is important to cold starting between oil changes, to keep the oil from draining back out of the filter into the drain pan overnight or when parked at work all day.
On first start after an oil change either topping up the filter or doing the foot on the floor pre-crank works fine. But you don't do that normally when starting, and that is when the anti-drainback is essential.

Oil changes cost me about 15 bucks or I can pay about 45 bucks but that isn't why I do them myself.

Go into a shop and watch the guys change oil. If that doesn't scare you into doing them yourself nothing will.
Chris

 

Chris Adams:
You are right the cam phaser knock is a Ford problem, not my oil and filter, because I started to hear it soon after I got it. I just heeded the advice of others on this site to wait until Ford had a reliable fix. So I waited 2 years and got it done before warranty expiration.
I will try filling the filter full like you described and tipping out the excess. What I do is fill it full, let the filter material absorb the most of it, and refill a couple more times. I tip and rotate the filter to get as much absorbed as I can then when I can see only about half full in the open center filter cavity I install it fast. (Being skinny helps). Do you just fill it once and let it absorb and then tip out just a little?

 

I fill it several times. Slow sucker to fill, but overall it takes about two minutes to top it, wait, top it, wait.
It gives me something to do while I wait on the oil to drain out.

It may drip a little oil on the silly plastic tray Ford put there to not catch the oil during the change, but a quick shot of brake cleaner removes the oil dribble that is always there when you pull the old filter anyway.


For any readers new to doing their own oilchanges, do it warm. The truck doesn't have to be really hot, but you need to run it a mile or three before draining. Cold oil won't come out as completely, plus when the oil is warm it holds the smaller particles better, thus giving you a cleaner drain.
Chris