Alright cool...keeping it all Motorcraft will make it simple then anyways. Now...I am not seeing a semi-synthetic oil on the Ford website? I am guessing you are referring to the synthetic "blend"?:

What should be my OCI anyways?

 

Might as well jump in here since I'm a new EB owner. The 3.5 EB takes 6 quarts of oil, so you're going to be 1 qt shy if you buy that "jug".

My Owner's Manual says to change the oil when the Information Display tells you to. And, it adds that the interval may be up to 10000 miles or one year. I dunno, reading what folks here are saying, it might be more prudent to change it at 7500 miles?

- Jack

 

NICE TRUCK! Those Platinum's are sweet! I realize that jug would be 1QT shy...you can actually get 6QT of Penzzoil Ultra on Amazon Prime for $48 which is actually quite reasonable.

As far as OCI...I just got done reading a majority of my owner's manual and like you said it tells you when to change the oil. I may just end up changing it every 5000 - 7500 miles regardless. I have never ran synthetic oils so I am unfamiliar with what the proper OCI should be...

 

Yes - MC synthetic blend, and from his past posts I wouldn't extend the interval past 5k no matter what oil you use. You should be able to buy it at Walmart.

 

Thanks glc, as always you are very helpful! I will plan to change oil at 5k and look for that oil at Walmart!

 

Ordinarily, I take glc's advice as something akin to a proclamation from God, but this time, I'm going to question it.

The EcoBoosts have been in service for several years now, long enough for Ford to figure out there is a problem with a 10000 mile/1 year oil change interval. And, if there IS such a problem, wouldn't it cause issues that would have to be covered under the powertrain warranty? And, if that IS the case, I'd think Ford would have reduced the OCI by now so that they wouldn't be paying for damage/corrective action. So, I'm not yet convinced cutting the OCI in half is a good idea.

Wookie's advice to change the oil at 25% life remaining seemed a good compromise, and that would equate to 7500 miles/9 months. I pulled my dipstick and the oil is certainly darkened and the info center shows it at 25%. My truck has a bit over 17,700 miles on it, so I'm making a WAG that it was changed last at around 10000 miles, which puts it at the ~7500 mark for me now. The level is at the upper hole on the dipstick, and there are no leaks. The engine was not steam cleaned either, but looks nearly new.

So, is my thinking totally demented glc? Do you have any real reason to think the oil will degrade to below safe limits after 5000 miles?

I only ask these questions because I'd rather not consume more oil than I need to. And, because I don't want to be "penny wise and pound foolish" I'm happy to be convinced to think differently.

- Jack

 

Did you smell any fuel when you checked the dipstick?

I have always done the 5k Interval. When it was new i changed the oil at 1500 miles and used MC Syn Blend every 5k on the dot. Last oil change i switched to Mobil One Full Syn. Still going to change it at the 5k mark. Just makes me feel better to change it too often then not often enough. Plus oil is cheap.

When I change the oil i reset the oil life to 100 percent, then when it gets to 50 percent its anywhere from 48 to 5500 miles depending how its been drove. I use to set it at 50 percent and let it go to 0 but its annoying when the truck keeps telling to change oil when it gets to 10 percent down to 0.

 

Damned good question Coy! I didn't, but it didn't occur to me to "sniff" it. I'll do that tomorrow. Fuel in the oil would certainly be a clue that the oil has become contaminated.

Is Mobil One cheaper for you? I know you can get it at Costco, so maybe it is. And, if it's changed at 5000, it's probably perfectly fine to use it.

I know oil is cheap, and that's what I was talking about when I said "penny wise and pound foolish". To save a couple bucks on oil and have a 5-figure value truck damaged would be completely stupid.

I'm just enough of an environmentalist (not a tree-hugger) that I don't like wasting what is, after all, a limited resource. I've always followed manufacturer's recommendations in the past (50+ years of driving) and never had ANY oil-related problems.

- Jack

 

Jack, I'm going by what Labnerd has said in the past about how the Ecoboost beats the oil to hell and back.

https://www.f150online.com/forums/20...-analysis.html Post #4

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v6...ution-oil.html Posts #2 and #10

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v6...-question.html Post #3

https://www.f150online.com/forums/v6...l-changes.html Post #23

Need I say more? He even says change Pennzoil Ultra at 5k while saying the MC is good oil. If you want to spend the time, do your own search, those are 4 threads I cherry picked, there are tons more.

EDIT: To both you guys - Jack and CC268 - if I owned a new EB, this is what I'd do. I'd do my first oil change at 3k, and use the MC blend. I would run it 5k and change it again and send in a sample for analysis, use the results to set up your long term plan.

 

Thanks, glc. Your post was VERY informative. Ol Labnerd certainly makes some good points, doesn't he?

Regarding searching, I'm not too lazy to do it, but I also learned in my 74+ years to ask questions and LISTEN to what other folks have to say. That was my motivation to ask here. I wanted to see what you had to say about the subject and how closely wedded to your opinion you were.

I'll continue to research this, but am not so opposed to changing the oil at 5K now. I'll get the oil in my truck changed right away too.

I'm still puzzled that Ford has not changed their recommended interval though. Maybe, it's because after 5-6 years they no longer have to worry about fixing things on their dime, as was pointed out in one or two of those links, and problems won't show up before then?

- Jack

 

The OCI on your truck isn't completely mileage based. The trucks ECM adjusts the interval based on how you are driving the truck. You can also adjust the time in the instrument cluster screen. I have used mostly Castrol Synthetic in mine but used the Pennzoil Ultra this last oil change. I have never smelled fuel in the oil when changing it. I have a 30 mile drive to work which is mostly freeway so the engine has plenty of time to get hot and burn off any condensation from the oil. I also use all of the numbers on the tach very frequently. With 85,000 on the clock it's running every bit as good as when it left the dealership lot.

 

Thanks, Joe. I suspected the ECM performed some magic here. I know my truck will be 90% used for long distance driving at highway speeds, but, about half of that will be towing our travel trailer.

What I DON'T like is the color of the oil in my truck at what I suspect is about 7500 miles since the last oil change. I know it's perfectly normal for oil to darken during it's time in the engine, but this seems darker than what I'm used to, especially in a fairly new vehicle.

Anyway, it's going to get a transfusion tomorrow and I'll be monitoring it closely.

- Jack

 

At Walmart the 5 quart Jug of Mobil 1 Full Synthetic is 27 bucks and 1 quart is $8. MC 5 quart jug is $18 and the extra quart is $5.

So 35 dollars for Mobil 1 vs $24 for motorcraft oil. Then add around 6 bucks for the MC filter.

When i was driving the truck on long highway runs the first 18 months of ownership (around 45k miles) i never smelt any fuel. On this oil change i do smell a hint of fuel in the oil at 4500 miles., this is the first time i have ever smelt any fuel but also first time its been all in town driving. Id bet if i ran this oil change to 7500 it would be pretty bad!

 

Interesting reading those threads that glc posted up. I wonder what Ford is going to do about how much these trucks beat up the oil. The EcoBoost's seem to be holding up great, but maybe I should have gone with the 5.0!

Anyways...I have been able to find Penzzoil Ultra and MC Synthetic Blend at Walmart (although I forgot to write down the prices lol). I am tempted to just use the Pennzoil Ultra since Labnerd said it is the best, but Labnerd did say that MC was good oil as well. I guess it will come down to price difference at Walmart.

 

When would you guys recommend doing my first oil change? I am at 600 miles right now. I have seen guys on here change it at 500 miles, 1500 miles, 3000 miles, and the standard 5000 miles lol