cdlamb

I have changed my oil in my 2018 F150 3.5 Ecoboost 2 times already, sending oil samples in to 2 different companies.
The intelligent Oil Life monitor said i had 79% life remaining on the initial oil change, & 75% on the 2nd oil change.
I changed oil at 3900 kilometers, & 4100 kilometers.

Both companies showed my oil was at a level 10 for need of oil change.

Oil viscosity was an issue in both tests.

2nd oil analysis showed much lower levels of wear metals, so I guess that's a good thing. I will change it for the 3rd time when I get about 12000 km, or about 7500 miles.

If things don't improve, I am considering installing an oil separator catch can. Maybe this will help control the fuel dilution.

doyall

WRT the AGAT analysis, I am not so sure I would be overly concerned with the viscosity drop when there is *only* 3.4% fuel dilution. Generally accepted upper limits of dilution are 5%. It did decrease significantly from your first test. Hopefully the trend will continue. While no one likes to see any dilution, it is a fact of life when diesel technology (direct injection) is used on gasoline engines, especially turbocharged ones.

Did you send them a sample of the virgin oil to test as well?

RLXXI

Fuel dilution is the bane of direct injected forced induction engines, has been for years. You're right not to trust the IOLM. An oil catch can will NOT help in any way. Just change the oil often. Every 3000 miles is a good schedule.
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BareBonesXL

So how long does the average direct-injected Ecoboost engine last, using Ford's maintenance procedures? Are the Ecoboost engines throwbacks to 100,000 miles and they're done days? What happens to the unaware people who just follow the service recommendations? Do they get screwed? Do these engines die early deaths? These are real questions, not trolling.

Seems surprising that Ford did not address the fuel dilution issue during development of the engine, maybe with design changes to work with diluted fuel. They test their engines to failure and do many analyses along the way, as they develop them, as I understand things. This issue is hard to understand for a modern day engine.

Stu Cazzo

I agree and suggested this in another thread and got lambasted!
I also suggest getting away from the synthetic blend and just go full synthetic.
But changing the oil more often will ensure that the viscosity is good.

Stu Cazzo

Ford didn't address a lot of things in the first gen ecoboost. As for the 2nd gen a lot of owners think all the problems are solved but i think time will tell. (Im not convinced)
Im on my second timing chain. I blame in part the length between oil changes for this but I also think theres so much torque that its also contributing to the timing chain issue.
Ford tech says the timing chains are only good for about 60 thousand miles.(100 thousand kms)

My advice for anyone with an ecoboost regardless of year is service the engine regularly and change the oil more often than recommended and I don't care what the owners manual says.
3000-3500 miles (5000kms) is what I am now doing. I also change plugs every 3 years.

My truck is almost 6 years old. It runs great with new timing chain.

Coyles and Melling make aftermarket timing chain kits for these engines now.
(although Melling does also make timing chains and gears for Ford)

frosty19

I would like to expand on this topic a little and maybe get some other peoples opinion with the oil life monitor
What is the purpose of it to begin with if it isn't accurate?
I am on a dealership warranty program which sets the schedule of my maintenance and they call for a full synthetic oil and filter change every 8000km. My truck is mostly on the highway but I am due for a service in about 150km and my oil life is still showing over 70% life... IMO 8000km is already on the long side of service [my last car was an STi (ie. also turbo)and my longest change was 5000km] and the monitor isnt even showing a half life.

One reason I ask is that say something goes wrong down the line that could've been caused by degraded oil, I don't see how they could deny coverage of that issue if the oil life monitor was never even close to showing end of life?

doyall

The OLM is, IMO, a reasonably accurate indicator of remaining oil life when the engine is not operated in what the owner's manual calls severe or extreme service conditions. Problem is that there are so many different types and levels of severe/extreme service that it becomes difficult for the OLM to accurately take them all into consideration. (Flame suit on.) It is hopefully getting better with every iteration of algorithm developed. That being said, it seems to me that your dealership is taking a very reasonable approach to change intervals, especially as it relates to the EcoBoost engines. Looks like they are aiming at the severe service user, which more people are than they realize. As you describe your driving style, you may not be a severe service user so it could turn out to be a very conservative approach especially using full synthetic oil. However, if you are on a dealership warranty program (not sure exactly what that entails), doing at least what they recommend is a prudent thing to do. Hopefully your oil changes are included as a part of that program.

That being said, all bets are off if your engine seriously dilutes the oil with fuel. The OLM cannot and therefore does not take that into account. Only way to tell about fuel dilution is getting an oil analysis by a lab that uses the proper testing method. If you have a serious diluter under your hood, then your dealer's recommendation may be extremely aggressive.

Speedfreak400

I would suspect driving a lot in overly rich conditions certainly would contribute, it short trips, cold weather ect. I change mine with the OLM which is usually 8-9k but most of my driving is highway at 70mph in 75--90 deg weather. I do a smell test now and then (not exactly scientific) for fuel in oil.

I would change it more often but I have to take it in for that which is a pain in the ***.........cause of the horrid job Ford did with the location of hte compentns and access. I swear its easier to change the oil in my 30th Anniversary Trans am thats 4" off the ground, although getting it up on the ramps with a 6M isnt the most stress less situation lol

Ricktwuhk

It is accurate.

While it may be your opinion that 8,000 kilometers (~5,000 miles) is "already on the long side", except in the case of fuel dilution it's not. You imply that because it's showing over 70% life now, it will be way too high when it shows time to change - and that's not the case either. It will trip at 10,000 miles or 1 year, whichever comes first, regardless. Highway miles are the easiest miles as compared to local stop and go, or towing.

Many people have posted that they got their oil tested, and besides a few fuel dilution results, I've never seen one posted that said that the IOLM recommendation wasn't perfectly fine - in fact, results were posted at 10,000 miles showing plenty of oil life left.