I was looking at my manual for my 2000 f150 and it looks like the first maintenace schedule is at 5,ooo miles is this right? Please help.

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2000 150 sport solid white, K&N filterpack the rest is still stock....for now anyway!

 

Regardless of what the manuals say, I will never go longer than 3000-3500 on any of my vehicles. Filter change every time, too.

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1997 F150 XLT-STX, Reg. Cab,Oxford White, 4.2L, Auto, 3:55, Prestige Alarm System, MPC Wrap Bugshield, Spare tire Shield,
-It's a beautiful Thing!-
Also: 1996 Probe
1998 Mustang
1999 Taurus

 

Yep, Ford says every 5K. I take mine to Grease Monkey every 2.5k (with motorcraft filter) they wait another 2.5K and have Ford do the maintance then.

 

That's correct..5,000 miles for 'regular' use and 3,000 miles for 'heavy duty use'.

Like Kenster, I always change my oil right at 3,000...but since I recently switched to Mobil 1 Synthetic..I will more than likely let it go out to 4,000 miles.

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, rubberized undercoating, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II, 5W-30 Mobil 1, engine build 10/4/99

 

It depends on how long you are going to keep you truck! If your leasing, go the 5000 or 6. If you buy a new truck every 3-4 years and dont put a lot of miles go 4-5K.... If you plan on keeping the truck:

1) When you NEED to change your oil is TOTALLY dependent on 3 things. One, the type of oil you use. Two, the way in which you use your vehicle. And last, the climate you live in!

If your truck is driven mostly highway miles, you could basically change it every 5K just to be sure... Probably even longer if you live in a warmer climate.

If you do a lot of cold starts you need to change more often. The 3 thousand mile rule of thumb is based on statistics of your average driver who starts the car (in the city) and drives it 3 miles. Turns it off. Goes to the store. Starts it again, stops at the cleaners... and so on!

If you typically start your truck and drive 20 miles/minutes OR MORE and let the engine reach its normal operating temp you can extend your changes even further!

COLD STARTS KILL OIL!!!!!!!

The bigger a contrast between the outside air temp and your engine temp will increase the amount of contaminants in the oil! Basically condensation, WATER!

I personally started using Amsoil. From what I've learned/read this oil provides much better protection than any other oil I've seen. THey claim you can extend you changes for up to 1 year and 25K....People have done oil analysis on this oil during those extended changes and found the additives where still working. I plan to change the filter every 3 months and do a complete oil change about every 6 months cause I live in the city!

Mobile 1 is a good product as well! I personally used Valvoline synthetics because it supposedly performs slightly better for the same price.



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Rand

 

I changed my oil at 2000 the first time there is a lot of metal bits and pieces in the oil as the motor is breaking in i have always done this , after that i would do them at 3000. search the old post on this topic it has been rehashed here several time the topics are quite lond also they should answer all you questions.

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2000 blk xlt f150 sc 4x4 orp pkg 5.4 3.55 ls tow pkg flowmaster muffler air box mod herculiner ,sony 10 disc cd-player A.R.E. cap remote start

 

I have always changed my oil and filter at 3000 miles and have never had a problem with an engine! I agree that highway miles are easier than city, but what is the worst that can happen if you change too early? You spend an extra $100 bucks over the life of the vehicle as opposed to an engine rebuild
of many $$$$$$$$$!!

Changing oil/filter is the best insurance that we can buy!

 

I was thinking I was going close to 5K until I looked back at my log book. It seems I was doing it somewhere between 3K and 4K most of the time. Only once did I go over 4K. I was really making sure I did it every three months regaurdless. Now that I am towing some I will stay closer to 3K or 3 months whichever comes first.

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97 F-150 SC Lariat, Styleside, White over Gold, 4.6L (Windsor), Automatic, 3.55 rear end, electronic 4X4, w/ every option of Lariat and ORP packages except the 17" wheels (I even got the OR decals now!) MOD's so far: K&N air box mod, Gibson Super Truck, clear Bugflector II, Leer TSC 600 hard cover, Bridgestone Dueler OWL ATP 265/75 R-16's, TrailMaster Invader N7 shocks, Smittybilt step bars, Ford moulded mud guards, "White-white" head lamps, Cloud Rider Design's SS Grill and bumper opening, Bosch Platinum + 4's, Hayden 30K+ Tranny Cooler,Class III Reece load distributing hitch system, full wiring including trailer battery charging system, Escort Sensor II Brake controller, Superchip

 

Anyone read Consumer Reports article a few years ago on oil changes? They tested NYC taxi cabs - changed the oil every 3,000 miles on half and every 5,000 the other half. After 100,000 miles (much less than a year), they tore down the engines and took measurements. Their finding reported NO SIGNIFICANT difference in engine wear. Just curious to get comments. I've been on the fence on this topic. I usually get the the 3 month mark before reaching 3,000 miles.

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2000 F-150 XLT 4x2, Ext. Cab - Amazon Green, 4.2L, 5 Speed, 3.55 Gears, No mods yet - but researching

 

I also read that consumer reports article..but over the years have learned not to trust their recommendadions 100% on everything. I still use them as a source of information though.

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2000 F-150 XLT, 4x2, 5.4L Supercab, Styleside, Black with silver two-tone, 3.55, class III towing package with heavy duty cooling package, 4 wheel disk ABS, overhead console, sliding rear window, keyless entry, dark graphite interior, in dash CD, Pendaliner bedliner, K&N air filter, rubberized undercoating, cabin filtration system, Bugflector II, 5W-30 Mobil 1, engine build 10/4/99



[This message has been edited by Dustoff (edited 02-16-2000).]

 

Checking the oil in Taxis sounds like a very severe duty, but one of the car gurus in this neck of the woods brought up a good point: How often do you start a taxi cab cold? I don't know about you, but I don't run my vehicle all day long like a taxi cab, but I do make several starts each day after the engine has cooled significantly. This contributes to the oil wearing out, but this factor doesn't come in to play on the Taxis. Its almost like running a lot of freeway miles (although taxis do a lot of stop and go). Just my $0.02.

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1997 F150 XLT, Flareside Bed, Moonlight Blue, 4x2, SC, Auto, 4.6L, 3:08, Matched cargo cover, Blue Oval reciever hitch plug, 235/70/16 Firestone Wilderness AT's, Sliding rear window, and a bunch of sand tubes (it is winter, ya know...)

 

You are ABSOLUTELY CORRECT! That is the MOST flawed test I have ever heard of... Cabs usually stay running continuously throughout the day! With the engine at operating temp most of the time, you hardly get ANY wear at all! The cold start is whats KILLING your engine! Until that engine gets hot, you get all kinds of water and gas into your oil! Not to mention that it takes a few seconds to pump oil to all the parts!

An engine with 100K may in fact have less wear than an engine with 30K!!!!! It depends on the use and how the owner took care of it!

Thats why you NEVER buy a leased or Rental vehicle... Yea they look new and have low mileage... But lots of people used it and how?? Do they change the oils every 3K...HECK NO! They do the recommended intervals, like 5 or 7K. Nor do the drivers respect a car they don't own!



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Rand

 

Hey! There is the solution to longivity in these trucks. Never shut em down. That's right, just let em idle and run all night and day and only shut em off to change oil. Why these things will probably last 500,000 miles that way! Think how long the starter will last!

 

Great comments / feedback. Like I said, nine times out of ten, I'm changing my oil/filter at three months long before I reach any mileage milestone.

You all are absoultely right - I don't recall CR mentioning anything about cold starts and the affects of engine wear against their test. Hey - bottom line, they recommend the F-150!

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2000 F-150 XLT 4x2, Ext. Cab - Amazon Green, 4.2L, 5 Speed, 3.55 Gears, No mods yet - but researching

 

I agree with G0-...I don't look at the miles, just the calendar, its easier to remember. I may drive more in the summer because of the nice weather and all, but hey look its February and here in Rome,GA its 70 degrees, time to hit the road...