Any of you guys do your own first oil change?

I ain't no gearhead, but have been changing my own oil my whole driving career so didn't even consider taking it in to have it done.

Man, what a pain. First off, I had to go to every store in town before I found the 5W-20 oil, but that's another story. I had just finished changing the oil in my wife's sedan and was looking forward to the ease (I thought) of getting under a big truck where there was lots of room. Ha.

My first surprise was the drainplug. I could have unscrewed it with my fingers. But what the heck, it wasn't leaking and far better to be a little loose than too tight, right?

Surprise #2: the oil filter was on so friggin' tight I couldn't budge it! Now I'm no 98 pound weakling (I'm 6-1 and 245 lbs). I kept putting every ounce of strength I had onto the wrench while I had my legs braced against the underside of the truck. Finally on about the 5th or 6th try, with sweat popping and about to burst a blood vessel the filter gave a little turn then came loose with a high pitch loud hideous squeak. The rubber gasket had obviously not been lubricated either.

Whew. After catching my breath and letting my heart beat return to normal for a while I noticed that the oil was trickling onto a little spalsh guard with a hole on one side where it was running nicely into my drain pan. Nice touch there. On my old Ranger it used to dump right onto the starter motor.

Now for surprise #3: there was no way to extricate the oil filter! No matter how I turned it I couldn't get it out of it's little cubby hole. I finally realized that the steering mechanism (sorry don't know the part name) was in the way and that it would be necessary to turn the wheels to the right in order to make enough space. At this stage I had turned that filter every which way but loose and had slopped oil all over the place in the process. I failed to notice until much later that the cross members (sorry don't know part names again) going to the wheels had large turned up rims where a lot of that slopped oil was flowing as if in a rain gutter over to the left wheel and leaving a big puddle in my driveway.

With no oil in the engine I sure as heck didn't want to try starting the vehicle to turn the wheels so I put it into neutral to unlock the steering and tried to turn the wheels. No dice. I heaved on that steering wheel until I thought it was going to break but couldn't budge 'em. At this point I figured I was going to have to screw the old filter back in and put some oil in to start the truck and turn the wheels. In desperation I went back under and gave it another try. I found that by slightly denting the filter I was able to get it out.

Ok, milestone here. Now how to get the new filter in? Answer: same process in reverse. Scraped it up a little but got it in.

Moral of the story: lubricate the gasket and hand tighten the filter (but you knew that already, didn't you -- apparently Ford didn't!), and most importantly, TURN THE WHEELS BEFORE DRAINING YOUR OIL!!!

 

I bent the "lip" of that drainpan down a little bit (from the front side). That allowed me to get the filter in and out of the space, with only one busted up knuckle.

 

The orig filter is a beotch to remove as we have all found out. My 4x4 Lariat SCrew's filter can be removed/installed without turning the wheels. Since I have gotten the first one off, all the rest can be removed by hand with no wrench. I also have the fumotomo oil drain valve on. My oil changes only take about 15 minutes, now that I have a system that works and a nice creeper to slide under on.

 

Did my first oil change on my 2001 5.4 4x4 Screw last week (I bought if used). My wheels where straight. The oil filter was too tight to loosen by hand. I used an oil filter wrench to get it off.

Granted there was not much room, and I had to do about 8 small turns with the wrench before it was loose enough to use my hand, but it really wasn't that bad. I had no trouble removing the old filter or getting the new one in.

My gripe about doing the oil change was that oil started coming out of the drain pan before the plug was even near to being completely out. So, my hand got very oily before I could get the plug out. I've never had a vehicle do that before. With other vehicles the threads were tight enough that my hand stayed dry until the very last second when I was finishing unscrewing the plug.

What is the fumotomo oil drain valve? Sounds like a replacment oil pan plug that has a valve on it? This would be handy.

 

I didn't have any problems with my Lariat changing the oil, filter came right off, came right out and new one went in.. wheels straight ahead... Hmmmm....

If it is a real problem, buy the remote kit they used to put on the FSeries, some guys have said it will fit the Screw. I had it on my 1999 SC. The oil filter is then iside the left front wheel well behind the bumper. Real convenient until you have a front end crash, then the truck is inoperable.

 

Forgot to mention that I have the 5.4L engine.

 

I think I would have put the gas pedal to the floor and cranked the engine over while turning the steering wheel. With the pedal to the floor, the engine won't start and I think the starter motor turning the engine might have been just enough to turn the wheels. Maybe. You certainly don't want to make a practice of doing this.

BTW, if you want to "prelube" the engine after an oil change, just mash the gas pedal to the floor and crank the engine.

 

 

Since this subject came up I have a question. When you change your oil and filter how many quarts do you use? I heard some talk that it calls for 6 quarts. But I also heard 6 quarts does not bring the level on the dipstick to the full mark.

Any info would be great. First oil change coming real soon.

Thanks

 

I've been changing my own oil in all my cars/trucks, until this change....

I bought all the stuff ($15.00) to give my new truck the first oil change, got under the truck and started fighting with the oil filter. Well, the filter won, and stayed firmly mounted to the engine. I remember the oil change ads for about $20, so two days later I drove over to one of those quick oil places and had it done. In writing the bill for the oil-change a couple of questions were asked:
V-8? Yes, well thats extra
4x4? Yes, well thats extra
5W-20? Yes, well thats extra

That will be $40.

All because the factory insist on putting the filter on so damn tight.

 

6 Quarts with filter change is the correct amount. It should bring the oil level up to somewhere near the middle of the cross-hatched area on the dipstick. It does not have to be at the full line. Anywhere between the full and add marks is fine according to Ford. If you want to fill it to the full line, there's no harm in doing so, other than the extra cost of the oil used.

I think everybody who has done their own first oil change have regretted it. That's why some here suggest having the dealer do the first change because we figure Ford must use gorillas to put the filters on at the factory.

 

I got free oil changes for as long as I own my SCrew from my dealer. My question is: I have 1000 miles on it now. When can I change to synthetic? Or should I?? I get it for free so the cost isn't really a factor.

Love my SCrew so far. Probably the best and most practical vehicle I have owned. Also for the fual mileage guys, I am getting 22-24mpg with the 4.6

 

OH! I'm really hating you! I got the 5.4L and am getting from 11.4 to a high of 13.9 mpg. I was averaging just about 11.3 with my 5.4L '99 SC 4x4.

I WAS happy with the mileage my '01 SCr has been getting when compared to my '99. That WAS until your post!!!

 

WebbDogg,

Are you sure you're calculating your fuel mileage correctly? That doesn't even sound possible to me. Hell, a 4.6 can't be that much different from a 5.4. Damn, the 4.6 should have to work harder to get the same truck moving with an equal acceleration.

I don't want to make your post or you sound untrustworthy, but just how do you go about actually calculating your mileage? I'm just saying, is it possible that you might be making an error in calculating your mileage, that's all?

I've got a 4x4 Screw with a 5.4 and I took a recent trip to Winston-Salem from Summerville which is about 5 hours each way. Taking my fill up gallon amounts and dividing into my trip odometer readings from the last fill up, I was averaging around 14.5 and that was the best I had calculated since ownership in Sept.

I wonder what Ford publishes for the average mileage rating for a Screw with a 4.6 V8?...hmmmm.

DaveMan

 

I just don't have all these problems changing oil in my SCrew. I get to the filter from underneath and it comes out with ease. Its a little tight to get a wrench on, but if it is lubed and not put on too tight it does not take much to get it loose. And I think the designof the little drain spout thingy is great. I get all the oil in my pan with very little dripping after I'm done. If you have not tried reaching it from underneath give it a try next time.