ocwill1

Thoughts on oil change. I have a 13 FX4, about 1800 miles on it since middle of August. Obviously, do not drive it much (have a second car to drive). The oil change percentage is at 72%, should I just wait until it hits the recommended, or do 6 month intervals. I was doing 6 month intervals on old truck, but it did not have the percentage thingy. Oil changes at dealer are free, one of their benefits. Advice???

I have an idea of what I am going to do, but open to suggestions..

ns_redneck

i do mine every 6 months. i don't usally put enough miles on to go buy that.

white08gt

do it yourself, read the horror stories of taking your truck into dealer for so called free oil changes on this forum. the dealer usually goes by mileage or months, will change it and then charge for doing it early. read your owners manual for limits.

WTF150

6 months is overkill. They will probably dump your oil in someone else's truck! There is so much life left in it after only 1800 miles. Your oil will not go bad in 6 months. Go by 12 months or <10% on your oil life monitor for you intervals, whichever comes first. Which for you, in this case, would be once a year.

BobbyC

iTrader: (1)

That would be dealer dependent. My dealer gave me 6 free oil services when I bought the truck. I have 3 left (don't drive much) and they'll do it whenever I ask rather than on a schedule. They do a great job too. They'll check the air in my tires and top off all fluids including washer fluid. When I use up the last 3, I'll start doing them myself.

I had the first service done at 5k miles and every 6-9k after that.

SeeManRun

Does oil really go bad in 12 months though? I drive my truck several times a week, but not very far. The oil is circulating and going through the filter. With synthetic oil, I can't possibly go by 12 months unless the oil actually goes bad, as I just don't drive enough. Its in great shape when it comes out.

WTF150

I'm sure it's still ok even after 12 months, but those are Fords recommended intervals. The best way to tell would be to do an oil sample analysis of one's oil after 12 months to see how much life is left.

Truck owner

because you don't drive much wait until you hit the 10k or at least 7,500k. the F150 has an oil cooler which extends the oil life thus the longer intervals. I would change the first oil change at 3k just to remove any shavings/debris trapped in oil filter and then after go with longer intervals between change. I wouldn't worry about 6 months...

Trapper

I'd have the dealer do an oil change. You'll find that the factory original oil filter was put on by a guy named Magilla the Gorilla. They put it on dry and tight so it doesn't get loose during the assembly of the truck. It can be a major pain to get off. You'll also be getting any manufacturing debris out of the engine and the factory oil will usually suffer from additive depletion as the new parts "plate up" with the oil and additives.
In a modern engine, time means nothing to motor oil. Years back we had open breather pipes to get rid of the blow by. Today our engines are a sealed unit with the PCV system getting rid of the blowby. It's the radical oxygen in the air that was bad for the oil. Since the engine crankcase doesn't see any free air, there is no degeneration of the oil. An example would be my LSC, a 1989 with 34,000 original miles on it. The last oil change was in 2004. I pull the oil every summer and get a sample for test. The oil is still fine.
Should your driving habits have the engine running without being at full operational temps, your engine is a prime candidate for sludging. As the engine warms it will condense water out of the air. The water ends up in the oil and if you don't run it long for it to cook the water off, it forms sludge. If you take the oil fill cap off and see a light colored cream looking deposit on it, you're flirting with sludge. The fix, and there's only one, drive it for longer periods of time to cook off the water. If the engine has a lot of miles on it, make sure the PCV system is in top shape. Use ONLY Motorcraft parts- these Ford engines are finicky about the PCV system parts.

ocwill1

Used to do it myself, but 2 vehicles I have are leases, and the truck was purchased at a dealership I have dealt with and trust. They have a huge contract with the Army base near me and would not jeopardize their rep with that cash cow. I will go to 3k, then do once a year as suggested. Only drive 5-6k per year, so once a year should be ok.. It doesn't site for long periods, gets driven at least every other day. Just have more fun driving in the Hemi Charger...