Alright.....somethings up here!!! You say turn the wheels all the way to the right to access oil filter????WTF?? My oil filter hangs vertical back by the oil pan!! Now on my 00 Expedition, the oil filter is on the front of the motor and you have to turn the wheels to the right to get to it. Are there two different setups on the Lightnings? I have yet to see a 2nd Gen L with the oil filter up front!!

 

Well, I just changed it this weekend also. 5300 mi. Been busy, or I would have double checked myself here. I jacked up the two front wheels cause I was going to rotate tires but after changing oil didn't have enough time. So I didn't have to worry about reaching it. BTW my oil filter was back next to oil pan on driver side. Yes, plug was 5/8" I believe. Just found one that worked. I put some oil on the filter O ring before screwing it on, but I didn't fill it up first. When I was done, I ran it for a min or two to make sure the oil did fine. and it did. On my old ranger ('92) the oil filter was side mounted rather than bottom mounted. So you filled it with 4 qt and ran it till the preasure dropped then added the last qt.

Something that hasn't been brought up yet, oil weight. Wish I had internet at home to check here first but I don't. I went with Mobil 1 Tri-Synthentic (Full Synthentic) 10W-30. 6 Qts. Is that allright? I've been on here a while and thats what I thought everyone was using. What is everyone else using when using Synthentic? Also used a FRAM (PH2) filter.

Let me know if I've done anything wrong?

 

So you're saying being just 1 qt low would cause a noticeable drop in oil pressure?

 

5/8" on the 01 L and 11/16" on the 75 LTD. That reminds me, might as well change the oil in the 75, today, on my day off

 

I think that the 10W30 will work, but I use 5W20 Synthetic (Royal Purple Racing 11). It probably doesn't matter, but I like to stick with the factory recomendation.

 

The stock drain plug does take a 5/8"(as others have said) socket. I use a 14mm on the aftermarket magnetic drain plug that I have installed.

mocklab: Many guys have sworn off using the Fram filter because of tests that have shown it is inferior. Poor internal parts and contruction shows up in poor filtration and other problems. No, youe eng. won't self-destruct(in a short period of time) because of that filter but I would change it out to one of the higher tested ones i.e.: Mobil 1, Amsoil, Purolator 1, or K&N Gold. Those names are from 'memory' and might be 'off'--I don't have the test in front of me.

You will get opinions on 10W30 vs 5W20, etc. from all directions. IMO, as synthetics have improved, I 'think' that a quality synthetic 5W20 protects the eng. internals as well as a 10W30 and frees up a horse or two. I've been running my 5W20 in the heat of a Georgia summer--both daily driving and 1/4 mileing with no problems. Of course, a 5W20 is even better in the colder months--particularly at start-up.

Dan

 

Oil change more then successful only hard part was getting stock oil filter off,, i swear it was easy to take the stock cat bak off when i installed the bassani, i figure ford must hire the retarted monkeys to tighten the oil filter on my truck, but oh well. Used stock oil and oil filter (motorcraft).

Oh yeah,, and one tip i used for myself which helps get all the oil out of the oil filter so that no mess is made. Cut a hole in the bottom of the filter and let it drain out before you unscrew it and yes it is mounted to the bottom

~Toast

 

what is good mileage to do the first oil change on a new L?
i have 975 miles on my 01' Ive been real easy on it so far but what is good time to start really stomping on it?

 

Loosen filter and put a zip lock freezer bag over it. Unscrew filter into the bag, no mess. M1 10W30 since 1500mi with no problems. 25K and never been in the shop.

 

in colder climates, 10w30 can make a 4.6 and 5.4 not start due to loss of compression due to the lifters pumping up in the heads from thick oil. we get about 1 tow-in a month between nov and march from this (mostly crown vics with high miles).

 

 

KGM-Now why didn't I think of that? Thanks for the tip.

 

jefflaws-Are you sure about that?

 

Guess I should go look for my pushrods then.

Maybe they are in the glove box.

 

yea, there are little lifters in the head . rocker arms have a lifter under one end of them and a valve stem under the other end, and a cam lobe on top in the center of them.