RiverRat5.0

So i have about 9200 miles on my truck and just checked my oil. It was definately low. The last time i changed it was at 5100mi and had changed at 2000mi before that. So upon looking at the dipstick there are two holes in it. The oil reads at the second hole (or at the bottom of the etching before the dipstick curls). So i think I may be a whole quart low or even more... This makes me nervous. 4100 miles since my last change and its down that much?? I don't consider this normal but could it be that the oil has seepage into areas that oil will sit (i.e. rings, seals, cyl walls, ect) and down the road it wont burn much more that a half qt every 5k? (thats what i consider normal). Opinions everyone? I drive mostly highway and it doesn't get beaten...

BlueFlameMetallicFX4

Most likely being sucked into the PCV sytem and being burned off...it's common. Do a search of "catch can"...

blue beast

next time you change it ..look at the dipstick after you fill (go by the manuel specs)..make sure you let the truck run so the filter will be full...look at it then..see where it is on the stick...go from there..what oil are you using ...you may need to switch,some motors dont like syn..same goes for the blend from motorcraft and the regular convential oil...had a truck that ate the syn oil, went back to convential and that problem quit...,or could be the prob stated above^^^

RiverRat5.0

Valvoline dino at 2k, and goodyear oil at 5k....I think they used kendall. I Have a free oil change at Ford that I'll use next time. However they may have lost my coupon. If so I'll change it myself next. I prefer to change it on my own but was SUPER busy.

bowlergt

Pretty sure you should be using at least a synthetic blend in your 5.0 not conventional. Know the dealer told me Id void the warrenty if I didn't. I use synthetic regardless but you might want to check your manual

bb37

You have to be careful with generic statements about oils.

The owners manual for the 2011 F-150 states with regard to the 5.0 engine: "To protect your engine and engine’s warranty, use Motorcraft SAE 5W-20 or an equivalent SAE 5W-20 oil meeting Ford specification WSS-M2C930-A." I also found a footnote in the Motorcraft part number chart in the manual which states "Use of synthetic or synthetic blend motor oil is not mandatory. Engine oil need only meet the requirements of Ford specification WSS-M2C930-A and the API Certification mark."

The key points here are that the oil must be SAE 5W-20 and it must meet Ford's WSS-M2C930-A spec. If you can find a non-synthetic oil that meets Ford's spec, you should satisfy the warranty requirements.

bcb97

I use Mobile1 full synthetic and I too have had oil usage in my 5.0. It was right at the full mark when I changed it about 1500 miles. Now I have 4500 miles and it is 1/2" above the bottom hole. I might try buying the motorcraft synthetic blend from ford and see if it uses it as much as the synthetic.

RiverRat5.0

How long are you going to leave it in? Sounds like your burning at the same rate as me... Are you going to top it off, Change it now, or wait to see how far down the dipstick it goes? Thats me debate. I am leaning towards putting some motorcraft oil in it now since i have 60% oil left.

bcb97

I plan on changing it at 5000 and then every 5000 after that. Since I am only going to change it every 5000 it might be better to use a synthetic blend rather than full synthetic.

RiverRat5.0

I just put a half quart of Motorcraft in and now its about 3/4 of the way up the dipstick. (Just below the upper hole). These dipsticks seem like they may over react to a very small amount of oil missing. I will continue to monitor the issue.