Just bought a new '05 F150 with the small V-8.

I have always been a strong believer that changing oil every 3,000 is the best insurance you can get for prolonging the life of the vehicle.

Questions?

#1 Should I change at 3,000, 4,000, or 5,000 miles?

#2 Use regular oil, synthetic or a blend?

I plan on keeping this truck for the long term.

Any other recs on care would be appreciated too!

 

myself i would go with mobil's new 5000 synthetic seeing as its a new truck..congrats ..and like it says good for 5000 miles (i have a diesel and use rotella t) good luck with your new buggy...zap!

 

Thanks zap.

I am picking the new truck up tomorrow (6-3). Obviously it has fresh regular oil in it. Do you think I should do an oil change to the synthetic immediately or go ahead and go for, say, 3,000 miles on this oil ... then change to the synthetic?

 

Keller,

First, some guys are gonna tell you to do a "search" in the threads as this has been thoroughly covered. You will most likely hear from Dservit. Now that said, I just went through this decision process as I had been using Valoline in a Chevy and really liked it and considered using it in the Ford. After a lot of flip floping, I decided to stay with Ford's recommendation of 5-20 Motorcraft, which is a blended oil. I decided that if I had a problem down the road, I wanted to be able to say I had used their oil. As to the 5,000 miles between changes, I believe that in our climate, 3000 to 3500 is better because of the dust in the air. That is what I plan on doing. By the way, welcome to the forum, and I am out near Burleson, so we are neighbors.

JT

 

Thanks Bluejay. I am in (as the name implies) Keller, about 30 miles north of you.

 

You might want to check with your dealership to make sure but I seem to remember it being a good idea to run 3-6k miles before switching to synthetics. I run Mobil 1 in my truck and my car and I go 5k miles between changes. If you do a lot of stop and go driving in hot weather you may want to change it more often.

 

Keller,

Your oil change frequency will depend on how you drive your truck. Look at your scheduled maintenance guide and follow it. This will help save your a$$ when it comes to warranty issues related to your engine (if that ever happens). Also, in your scheduled maintenance guide check the "severe" schedule to see if you will be driving your truck under ANY of those conditions. Note this: If that schedule says that "if you only OCCASIONALLY drive the vehicle under these conditions, follow the NORMAL schedule" you do not have to follow the severe schedule. Again, this is for warranty purposes. So I would be sure to follow the right schedule and use the oil called for in the owners manual. You don't want to take chances with having engine trouble and then having your Ford dealer say it's not covered because of the wrong oil or not changing oil when needed. Now, other readers will say this is a lot of hot air; but I have followed my guides and used the right oil, and I have gone beyond my warranty (mileage-wise). I'm now at 38k miles on my '03, and she still runs like new. Also, it is not necessary to replace your oil as soon as you get your truck. You can run it 3000-5000 miles as normal just like any other time you change your oil. Otherwise you are wasting your money.

Enjoy your new ride!

 

I think most people change their oil too often. Modern engine and oil technology has easily surpassed the old school 3,000 mile interval. It's mostly an American mentality, because in other Countries, longer intervals are normal.

A good example is Ford Philippines. I was assigned there for a few years, our 5.4L Expedition Eddie Bauer's (all Philippine F150s and Expys are US Spec) extreme service interval is 10,000 kilometers (6,214 miles), and even longer for normal conditions. And that's considered a traditional oil change interval there! Considering how hot, humid, and dusty it can be in P.I., I was surprised that Ford would considered severe duty oil changes at over 6,000 miles!

So to answer your question, 5,000 mile changes with Motorcraft 5W-20 should be just fine. As for synthetic, changing at 5,000 miles is a waste of money. My BMW has used Mobil 1 0W-40 since new and has 15,000 mile oil change intervals. I think you can easily go 7,500 miles before you change your oil.

But to be honest, an oil change at your dealer is only $21 bucks. So if you feel better changing your oil at 3,000 miles, then do it! Since the extra piece of mind is so cheap

 

You could use the search :santa: