just got my 2011 5.0 last week, i got 450 miles on it, i have been easy on her so far, havnt been over 4k rpm. I really want to drive it normal, i was wondering the break in time for these trucks and when is the first time i should change my oil?

 

Drive it normal just limit the amount of times you floor it! Dont baby it to much, or it will always run like a baby.. that my theory! as far as oil just change it as usual..

 

you are supposed to try to vary the rpms when driving, dont run at steady rpms constantly and dont tow. I wouldnt think it would hurt to hit higher rpms, but i wouldnt be redlining it from every stoplight, haha! I would change oil at 3K. Not quite sure which is true as ive heard both 500 and 1000 miles is required to break in, so you should be darn near good to go now if the 500 mile is in fact correct, i went 1000 before I got after mine to hard though.

 

Agree with the no tow until after 500 miles and no steady rpms for longer durations; otherwise, no real break in any more, just drive it. That is my theory

 

I have no science behind this but here's what I do each time I get a new truck. I do this only because I've heard if they get broken in like a baby they will run like a baby, and that it helps seat the rings and valves. Not sure if any of that is really true or not but hey....

Drive it at normal speed until it fully warms up and then floor it for a couple of seconds - not long because (my theory) the clearances are tight so high RPMs = less oil between the parts for protection. Also keep in mind that heavy engine loads (hauling **** uphill with a trailer) creates more pressure on the rings further reducing the protective oil barrier between the piston and cylinder.

Get it on a long stretch of road and let it rip. Take it up and back it down. Do almost anything you want but don't hold it under heavy load or high RPM for more than a few seconds. 4000 RPM on the highway is plenty fast unless you have really low gears. And 4K won't hurt the engine but for a new motor I wouldn't hold it above that for more than a few short bursts. I've seen several friends over a span of 25 years score the cylinder walls by holding a new motor at near full throttle for miles and miles without backing off.

Again, there is no science behind my method but I've put between 100K and 170K miles on my motors and never had an oil burner or a dog.

 

I have read a few articles that say you should change the oil as soon as 50 miles cause your motor is wearing in and all the little metal flakes and shaving will come out on the 1st oil change. Then they say change it again around 1k miles to get what little metal is left from breaking in. Then you can go the recommended 7,500 miles between oild changes. It makes sense and I know it could be pricey as far as oil changes go. It also said dont tow or redline it in the 1st 1k miles or so.

 

The owner's manual is pretty clear:

"BREAKING-IN YOUR VEHICLE

Your vehicle does not need an extensive break-in. Try not to drive
continuously at the same speed for the first 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of
new vehicle operation. Vary your speed frequently in order to give the
moving parts a chance to break in.
Drive your new vehicle at least 1,000 miles (1,600 km) before towing a
trailer. For more detailed information about towing a trailer, refer to

Trailer towing in the Tires, Wheels and Loading chapter."


So do some city driving and do some highway driving, which to me includes a little high speed and high rpm.

Don't tow a trailer for the first 1000 miles.

As far as first oil change, you'll find as many opinions as there are members on the board. There's no such thing as break-in oil any more, and as far as the Ford engineers are concerned, the first oil change is at 7500 miles. But if you want to make your first change at 500, 1000, 1500, or 3000, go ahead.

 

i notices that there is a oil check in the info part of the screen, it gives the oil life, i read in the owners book that the truck will inform me if it needs a oil change, i dont know anything about that

 

That's only if you got the oil analysis option, only available with the Lariat and higher models; it is option C45 and costs $799.

The way it works is every 1000 miles or 10 hours of engine operation, 1/2 ounce of engine oil is diverted to the oil analyzer. This is mounted on the firewall, driver's side. Based on the analysis, the on-board computer will then display the useful life left in the oil. When it reaches 5%, an alarm will sound intermittently, until 1% when the alarm is continuous, until you get the oil changed. If you fail to change the oil before the useful life gets to 0%, the Sync system will automatically send a message to FoMoCo and void your warranty.

If you don't have this option, the only information you will get is the percentage of life left in the oil, based only on the number of miles since the last oil change, assuming that the technician reset the indicator. The default is 7500 miles, but you can adjust this, see the manual for instructions.

 

That qualifies as the truck telling you when it's due for an oil change.