Oil change rant
#16
#17
#18
You really don't save much money doing your own oil changes. I stopped doing mine 20 years ago. I go to a shop that lets me bring my own oil and filter, and he charges me $20 to change it and give it a lube job and full inspection.
It's not worth the hassle to me any more, plus these days you have to deal with legal disposal of the drain oil and old filter.
It's not worth the hassle to me any more, plus these days you have to deal with legal disposal of the drain oil and old filter.
My new truck takes about 8 quarts. That's about $29 (walmart for motorcraft 5/20 Synth. oil). Then the $8 filter. That's $37. My Ford garage always has a $39 special and that includes themulticheck, fluid top offs, tire rotation, and lube. And sometimes there is a $10 rebate on that. Last one totaled $29. Not worth getting under the truck unless your a hobbyist.
#19
2 factors you may not be considering - sales and workmanship.
Costco regularly runs the full synthetic oil on sale for about 10 bucks for 6 quarts. Add on a filter and you are still under $20.
And I don't trust anyone to do as good a job as I do. You just have more care when it is your own vehicle.
Yes, I know, many people will respond "ya but I found this great mechanic and trust him/her explicitly". OK, maybe if that mechanic is running a small garage you are OK. But anywhere else that has more than one mechanic (or even one mechanic and a high school kid working part time) then who do you think is doing the oil changes???
HINT - its not the mechanic with 30 years experience.
Costco regularly runs the full synthetic oil on sale for about 10 bucks for 6 quarts. Add on a filter and you are still under $20.
And I don't trust anyone to do as good a job as I do. You just have more care when it is your own vehicle.
Yes, I know, many people will respond "ya but I found this great mechanic and trust him/her explicitly". OK, maybe if that mechanic is running a small garage you are OK. But anywhere else that has more than one mechanic (or even one mechanic and a high school kid working part time) then who do you think is doing the oil changes???
HINT - its not the mechanic with 30 years experience.
#20
2 factors you may not be considering - sales and workmanship.
Costco regularly runs the full synthetic oil on sale for about 10 bucks for 6 quarts. Add on a filter and you are still under $20.
And I don't trust anyone to do as good a job as I do. You just have more care when it is your own vehicle.
Yes, I know, many people will respond "ya but I found this great mechanic and trust him/her explicitly". OK, maybe if that mechanic is running a small garage you are OK. But anywhere else that has more than one mechanic (or even one mechanic and a high school kid working part time) then who do you think is doing the oil changes???
HINT - its not the mechanic with 30 years experience.
Costco regularly runs the full synthetic oil on sale for about 10 bucks for 6 quarts. Add on a filter and you are still under $20.
And I don't trust anyone to do as good a job as I do. You just have more care when it is your own vehicle.
Yes, I know, many people will respond "ya but I found this great mechanic and trust him/her explicitly". OK, maybe if that mechanic is running a small garage you are OK. But anywhere else that has more than one mechanic (or even one mechanic and a high school kid working part time) then who do you think is doing the oil changes???
HINT - its not the mechanic with 30 years experience.
I have never seen synthetic oil in Costco at $10 for 6 qts. Walmart is far cheaper than Costco.
5 qt jug for $25 presently for Mobil 1 EP.
#21
#22
I have the 2.7L Ecoboost engine. the oil filter sits on top of the motor, and it takes a wierd filter, and a 1-1/16" socket to remove it. Have to change 3 o-rings each time.
The shield under the truck is the real hassle. Even up on ramps, it's not as easy as it should be, and I don't see any real benefit to the shield anyway. If you run over a piece of paper, I guess it would protect the steel oil pan, but hit anything significant and you're on the hook to replace a shield that I'm sure you can only get from Ford at 4 times markup.
I'm tempted to leave the shield off. Would probably help the air flow around the exhaust anyway. Can't believe it gives me 5 extra mpg.
The shield under the truck is the real hassle. Even up on ramps, it's not as easy as it should be, and I don't see any real benefit to the shield anyway. If you run over a piece of paper, I guess it would protect the steel oil pan, but hit anything significant and you're on the hook to replace a shield that I'm sure you can only get from Ford at 4 times markup.
I'm tempted to leave the shield off. Would probably help the air flow around the exhaust anyway. Can't believe it gives me 5 extra mpg.
May I suggest taking it to a Ford dealership for a semi-synthetic oil change and Motorcraft filter for about $34? My dealership sends me coupons all the time. I eat their donuts and drink their coffee while I wait. I'm usually out of there in less than an hour.
An oil change is not rocket science and I'm not worried about them doing it incorrectly. Drain oil, change filter, replace oil.
And no, I'm not worried they're putting in some off-brand oil while telling me they used MC Semi-Syn. If I was, I would buy the oil and filter myself and take it to my local Quickie Lube which charges $25 for labor with my supplied oil and filter and I watch them do it. $25 seems very fair for me to avoid getting on my back and doing all the labor, getting dirty and oily etc.
#23
Oil change rant - update
OK, so a week ago or so, I contorted my old body under the truck (2.7 eco-boost), and removed the "protective" shield with only 3-4 swear words.
Decided to leave it off, to see how it affected my mileage.
Result? Not one bit of difference. So it's sitting in my garage and will stay there until I sell the truck.
Now I can change oil in about 10 minutes or so, and keep a happy face
But I still hate the oil filter...
Decided to leave it off, to see how it affected my mileage.
Result? Not one bit of difference. So it's sitting in my garage and will stay there until I sell the truck.
Now I can change oil in about 10 minutes or so, and keep a happy face
But I still hate the oil filter...
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#25
Just buy a cheap battery operated screwdriver and the 15 screws come off fast. I've had to deal with filters that were torqued too much having to drive a screwdriver through them to get them to turn and stripped pan plugs on used cars I've bought. I'll do it myself with my power screwdriver.
#26
#27
Why don’t you like the top loaded filter? The o-rings don't need to be replaced unless they get damaged and the cap o-ring takes a second to replace. Break the cap loose, slide under and remove the drain plug. Go have a beer or two, replace the drain plug, remove the old now drained oil filter and add oil. We cheered the day the manufacturers started going to top load filters.