First of all, let me say this is my first ford vehicle since living in the USA. I've had a chevy before that. Before I moved to the states, lived in the UK, I used to drive all Ford. It's good to be back with an old friend.

Anyway, from what I can ascertain from the online ford literature, the service intervals are at 5000 miles each (Just bought a 2004 F150 with the hefty $4500 rebates at the dealer). Is this the recommended interval for oil changes too? I normally do mine at 3500-4000. On another note, I've never owned an eight cylinder engine either, so I've no idea if these type engines are more tolerant of oil change intervals.

Thanks!

Phil

 

most people on here do 3000 miles. although many of us use MOBILE 1 FULLY SYNTHETIC oil which says it can go 7000 miles ( i still do it at 6000 miles) it costs more but there are many people including me that like it way better!

 

Boy that was a quick response! Ok, I'll just fall back to my regular schedule then. Must say never considered synthetic oil before. If I were to drain the existing oil in the truck now, can I just replace it directly with synthetic (ie empty the oil, replace the filter, and then fill with synthetic?). Can I wait until the next oil change, or should I do now at 200 miles on the odo?

 

Dewi, I would suggest that you wait until the truck is actually due for it's first oil change. The reason for this is because of the additive that is in the oil in your engine now. It is designed to allow the piston rings to properly seat. Most new engines have this oil. Also, your oil change schedule depends upon your usage of the vehicle. Look at your scheduled maintenance guide that came with your truck. In a lot of cases, if you only OCCASIONALLY operate your truck under the listed severe conditions (which to me means not everyday, but maybe once a week or month), you only need to follow the NORMAL schedule. Of course, if you take your truck to your dealer for oil changes, they will 99.9999999% of the time write your "due back" mileage 3,000 miles later. But YOU are the owner of that vehicle, YOU know how you operate it. So if you operate the vehicle under conditions considered to be normal per the guide, you can go longer than 3,000 miles. Just make sure you use the right oil.

My 2 cents

 

Dear Dewi If you use Amsoil Series 2000, 100% Synthetic 0W30 Motor Oil you can go to 35,000 miles between oil changes, BUT the oil filter can't last that long, at every 5000 miles, change the oil filter w/o changing the oil, and just add in enough oil to make up what you lost when you changed the oil filter, now if you use a higher quality oil filter like the Mobil 1, Pure 1, or the Amsoil Oil Filter, you can double that to 10,000 miles to change oil filter only.

 

Stick with the interval recommended in your Owners Manual until your vehicle has exceeded its warranty mileage, then be very careful about what you decide. I would hate to see you void your warranty by not changing your oil at the intervals prescribed by Ford.

 

Okay. Thanks for all the info!

 

I'm interested in what the intervals of time are. My Ford is not driven much (2002 with 11k miles) and I am wondering if I should change it every 6 months, or just stick with miles?

 

Go by your oil's drain intervals, and do whichever comes first (months or miles, but its probably miles in your case)

 

haha.. definetly dont do something crazy like this statement. Synthetics are not designed to go longer between oil changes than Dino oils. The main reason we change our oils is carbon deposits. The synthetics will absorbe just as much filth from the motor as any other oil. Some people think they have benifits with synthetics but unless you are racing the engine at extreme RPM's and temps.. Just follow the service manual

 

Crotch;

Do some serious research... then decide.

You appear to be singularly uninformed, and apparently brainwashed by all the '3000' mile oil change propaganda.

This topic has GOT to be one of the most discussed and emotional on this forum.

Most oils companies and lube joints love to see you dump perfectly good oil every 3000 miles. Where's it all go? You think it all gets recycled. The crap accumulating in the water table says different.

Fact is, oil analysis pundits have already proven that IF you use a REALLY premium quality oil ( AMSOIL Series 2000), and replace the filter regularly, you CAN prolong the life of both your oil and the engine. It's not fiction, it's chemistry. Keeping tabs and records and doing ALL the proper maintenance on your truck is the key.

Consider this: Ford states for the F150 that:
- the O2 sensors will last 80k or more - BS
- The fuel filter can last 30K or more - BS
- the plugs will last 100K - BS
- and on and on...

The reality is these components and much more require more frequent replacement. So if they misrepresent the facts on these items , why would you blindly regard their oil change intervals as gospel?

IT's YOUR TRUCK!

If you'd just take the time to become even partially familiar with the facts on this issue you may just reconsider. It's a LOT more complex than just 'carbon in the oil'.

Your truck, and the environment will thank you.

Freedom of choice and speech rules ;-))

Just my humble opinion.

Cheers

PS - if you also own a motorcycle, use Amsoil or Redline if you really care about it... ;-))

 

I'm not the smartest when it comes to oil, but my neighbor drives for a large transit fleet. He told me they change the filter every 3K, do an oil analysis every 10 to 15K, and change synthetic oil at every 100K whether or not it is needed based on the oil analysis. Synthetic does not break down like dino oil, and much more heat tolerant. I there is no big difference, why does the military use synthetic instead of dino oil in the jet engines?

All the 'B.S.' in the previous reply. Let me tell you this. I have 80K on my truck -- original brakes, original tires, original fuel filter, original plugs. I religiously change my air filter, oil, oil filter, and tranny fluid by the book, use Mobil 1 5-20, and get as good as if not better gas milage that when i bought the truck 5 years ago. I routinely get 15MPG in town, and withing a tenth or 2 or 20MPG on the interstate at 70MPH with the cruise set.

Just had a smog check so I could renew my license plates. My readings are as good as they were when I bought the truck. You will never convince me that synthetic has not played a major role in this.

 

I usually change my oil every 5000K miles with Dino oil. On the bike I use Motul semi synthetic. I wouldnt use any other brand oil in my bike. Especially not a car oil since it has wet clutches. I have been racing cars for years. I will tell you one thing. You change the oil often. Unless you want to spend another few thousand to rebuild again. But that just goes by my experience. Its your truck. If you choose to change it every 30k miles. Hey look at it this way. You saved a hundred bucks.

As far as changing plugs in the triton. I just replaced the ones on my wifes Navigator a couple of weeks back. 98k miles. The plugs looks almost new. Definetly didnt need replacing. I changed out the plugs in my Cobra with 60k miles with iridium ones. The factory platinums looked like they had under 1k miles on them. So I am not so sure about the statement about the plugs. I will say this. I was definetly suprised when I pulled them at how great they looked. I was expecting at least some wear on the electrodes

 

crotchrocket !!!,,, cortchrocket,,,,, LISTEN TO ME >>>> OK you own a crotchrocket. it has a wet clutch, right? the same motor oil in ur engine is bathed in ur wet clutch,,, right? Listen to me, im right on this one, I own a motorcycle too and I was AMAZED what happened. When you use petrolium based motor oil you get impuraties and deposits that absorb in ur fiber clutch plates that cause, normal, minor clutch slippage, this is almost normal on all motorcycles with a wet clutch, this effects ur performance and top speed, at top speed ur having some clutch slippage, NOW if you change ur engine oil to "AMSOIL SYNTHETIC MOTORCYCLE ENGINE OIL 10W40",,, you will get NO CLTUCH SLIPPAGE, and a HIGHER TOP SPEED, when i changed to Amsoil in my bike I freaked out, I got 10 mph higher top speed, I was amazed, try it, and you will be amazed too. before you change ur oil, first measure ur top speed, then change it to Amsoil and I KNOW you will get anywhere between 5 to 15 mph higher top speed. Blow ur buddies off the road, outrun the cops, ride those wheelies !!

 

The main reason for this is because that particular Amsoil product does not contain friction modifiers. It's basically a diesel oil (look at the ratings) Diesel oil's usually do not contain friction modifiers.

Anyhow, please tell me exactly how you verified 10 miles per hour fast on your top speed?? Is this a mini-bike that goes 25mph then you went 35?????


If you realized how dumb you sounded, you would quit posting this garbage. It's becuase of inaccurate and misleading information that Amsoil has such a bad name. And you are continuing this with your postings.

(I guess you get all kinds when anyone can become a dealer for $30/year)