When these trucks are full, the oil will not be at the top line. Mine is half way between the hash marks. If its not below the hash, I wouldnt add any. Ford didnt make them where top is full and bottom is a quart low. So you cant go by that. I use Castrol 5w20 in mine.

 

chuckpenn,

That is not always true.

My Screw shows to the top full mark with the 6 qts.

 

I just dont think you should add any until you change the oil and find out what full is. They do all tend to be different. Its not a bad idea to change the oil a little soon the first time anyway. I changed mine at 1200 miles the first time, and the filter was hard to get off. The factory guys dont put oil on the gasket, making them hard to get off. The longer its on their, the harder it is to get off.

 

That's a good point. Buckshot, was the level at the full mark when you bought it? That could be the level they filled it to in the first place. That could be the 6 quart mark.

One major oil company did some testing and concluded that topping off your oil is better than not. It makes sense, you will have fresh additives, and more oil to disperse contaminates.

You expect a new engine to use some oil, but not much, and not for long. Not all engines need to be topped off. I have 40k in my engine. I filled (synthetic) mine to the top mark and now have 6k on the oil. It is still at the top mark.

 

Greencrew,

You are mis-informed about having too much oil in the pan vs. not enough. If you overfill you will increase the risk of blown oil seals on the crank and bearing damage on the lower end journals. Ask any mechanic...

I have not seen a F150 manufactured in the past 7 years that had a correctly calibrated dipstick. I have owned 4 trucks of that bodystyle and they were all different and incorrect. During the first oil change 5 quarts needs to be added and after the truck had warmed up it needs to be shut down so that the oil can be checked. At this time the oil level needs to be marked on the dipstick as the minimum level. Another quart needs to be added to the crankcase and the truck run for a few minutes and then shut down again to mark the maximum level on the dipstick.

T

 

I've used 10w30 in both f150's (97 and 01) 4.6l. Haven't had a problem. I am running 5W30 in my Stang.

There is no difference in engine specs that would justify using a lighter weight oil. A 30 weight oil will do fine.

 

Tsquared, I agree that an over filled engine will blow out seals. I spoke of topping off. That is when you oil level goes down half a quart you add the half quart of oil back in to bring the level up to 6 quarts.

Either way, 6.5 quarts is not overfilling your engine, causing the seals to blow out. This is my third truck, and I ran all of them at full dip stick. I had no seal leaks. Granted the one I have now is the first one I've taken over 30k.

The top of the dip stick is not a magical spot where above it the seals blow and bushing are oil starved.

More oil is better, I'm convinced that is why Ford went with a 6 quart sump, more oil. Now I don't think using a 55 gallon drum with a remote filter is a good idea because there is a law of diminishing returns with each additional quart, and it is important to be able to heat the oil up to operating temp.

 

 

Great, glad to hear it. Mike you must be a proud father. The install location was your idea, it works great, and those pictures look prefessional. I'm proud to be a part of it. This is good news anytime anywhere. I'll have to repost the link in that old thread just for fun.

 

sorry to bring back the thread.
i have a quick question.

im currently using Mobile 1 5W30 in my 97 F150 4.6L. i wanted to if it is possible to switch to a petroleum based motor oil now. i currently have 100K on the engine. is this safe?

any other suggestions?

thanks for reading!

Brad

 

most mechanic's will tell you oil is oil, as long as your changeing it between 3000 and 5000 miles it does'nt matter. and remember paid advertiseing is just that "PAID ADVERTISEING". i've helped rebuild engines that have had nothing but synthetic run in them and engines that have regular oil run in them. and when they go they go.

 

bread, you can switch between dino and synthetic oil any time, and as many times as you like. It's common to run synthetic oil only in winter months.

 

Actually, the real danger is from the crankshaft actually hitting the oil in the pan, causing it to foam up. Once the oil is foamed, it has large quantities of air suspended in it, which drastically lowers its ability to form a proper film on the bearing surfaces.

This foaming is a real issue. That's why engine builders install windage trays on high RPM / high performance engines.

When I read posts from folks who put 7 (or more) quarts of oil in a six quart crankcase, I wonder what makes them think they know better than the folks who designed the engine ?

Tsquared is right - Change your filter; change the oil and run the truck for an hour or so. (Be sure to add exactly 6 quarts - no more, no less).

Let it cool off completely (overnight), and then check the dipstick. Mark it where it is, because that is your "Full" mark, regardless of what the factory dipstick markings indicate.

The dipstick markings might vary, but the oil capacity of the engine and pan do not...

 

thanks for your info.

i was only asking, and im not sure if anybody else has experienced this, because iv been losing about a half qt of oil every oil change (i change about every 4500-5000), can this be due to the fact that i use only mobile one full synthetic?

thanks again!!

Bread

 

I doubt that synthetic and regular oil will emulsify properly for the right protection if there based diffrently.... just an opinion I would be cautious... GG