First Oil Change Thoughts on 2.0L EcoBoost Engine

[Meanderthal]

Yes, the green die is for tracing leaks. It will light up under a black light. Some BS's have come from the factory with it and others not. Not sure if finding it means that there was a leak that had to be fixed or if it is sort of random for a quality check.

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[gatornek]

Yes, the green die is for tracing leaks. It will light up under a black light. Some BS's have come from the factory with it and others not. Not sure if finding it means that there was a leak that had to be fixed or if it is sort of random for a quality check.

Dyed oil, huh? Feel even better about getting it out now!

 

[sajohnson]

I go to Quick Lane at the dealer, I also don't mind using Motorcraft synthetic blend. I can usually snag a coupon which makes the cost reasonable, they also rotate the tires as well. No need to lay on a creeper or cardboard or having to dispose of the used oil and filter.

You're missing out on all of the fun!

 

[NMhunter]

I took my truck in once to have the oil changed by pros. It came back with a stripped plug, and leaked forever after. I'll never trust a "pro" to change my oil. i had my transmission oil changed on my Jeep Liberty, and they didn't install the filter correctly. $4500 transmission ruined.

I've run full synthetic in all of my vehicles for 30 years. I change the oil once a year whether it needs it or not. I've never had an engine problem. When you take it to a "pro", you don't really know what kind of oil you're getting, and I can usually do it in less time at home.

 

[sajohnson]

I took my truck in once to have the oil changed by pros. It came back with a stripped plug, and leaked forever after. I'll never trust a "pro" to change my oil. i had my transmission oil changed on my Jeep Liberty, and they didn't install the filter correctly. $4500 transmission ruined.

I've run full synthetic in all of my vehicles for 30 years. I change the oil once a year whether it needs it or not. I've never had an engine problem. When you take it to a "pro", you don't really know what kind of oil you're getting, and I can usually do it in less time at home.

+1.

For most people it's just not a big deal to change the oil. Ask me in 15 or 20 years and I might have a different perspective, but unless a person has physical limitations, an oil change is an easy DIY project. As you said, it typically takes less time as well.

In addition, while you're under there, it's a good opportunity to check for damage, leaks, etc.

I've also used 100% synthetic for about 30 years. Not because it was absolutely necessary. In fact, it was not even *mentioned* by the mfrs. I just look at it as cheap insurance. Decades ago, when synthetic first came on the market, it was pricey, but now you can find 100% synthetic for <$5/quart -- not much more than conventional oil.

That's not to say Ford's blend is 'bad' -- it obviously works fine. If Mobil 1 (or other synthetic) cost 3x as much, I might decide our vehicles do not need 100% synthetic after all, but for (say) ~$1/quart more it seems worth it.

At the end of the day though, in most applications it just doesn't matter. Most vehicles start to fall apart and nickel and dime you to death long before the engine shows signs of getting tired. There are exceptions of course, but most owners are not routinely towing trailers at the max GCWR (or over) through the Rocky Mountains on fire roads with 20% grades.

Using full synthetic just gives me a warm fuzzy feeling.

 

[gatornek]

I took my truck in once to have the oil changed by pros. It came back with a stripped plug, and leaked forever after. I'll never trust a "pro" to change my oil.

One place I will never take my vehicle to are those "quick lube" places. The quality of employee that they tend to hire is not someone I want touching my car. Dealership? I don't mind. They see the same vehicles over and over and tend to have higher quality control. But never ever "quick lube".

 

[coopny]

So a very interesting experience at the local Valvoline having my first BS BL oil change at a hair over 3000 miles ODO. I figured I was getting the synth blend out of it for full synthetic. Went beyond what I expected from them

1. The sticker that printed automatically getting the oil change said +3K miles above where I came in but they told me that 3K was "early" even for factory oil. Techs (about four guys above one guy below) disagreed on whether factory break-in oil would be full synth or synth blend (manual doesn't specify). They said 3K was the absolute minimum or they would have refused service and they recommended 5K intervals particularly for direct injection turbos, but then other techs interjected 7500 was fine on full synthetic. None believed 10K miles was a suitable interval or to trust the IOLM.
2. When I talked about changing the oil myself and how 10qts of full synth at costco was $32 on sale [vs. around $80 with a Groupon for them out the door - $68 for $99.99 promo value, plus extra oil beyond 5L, plus tax] to do it with labor and a filter) they said yeah easier letting us take care of it but you can do it at home and gave advice. They said hey, full synthetic of appropriate spec is fine if handled appropriately.
3. They used extraction rather than the drain plug, they explained that the plug design in the BS was a troublesome one where it was easy to break the drain plug and they'd already paid for two oil pan replacements so they would rather extract it. The tech who did the front stuff (PC, calling out oil, etc.) did say I could get an extractor pump off Amazon if I wanted to change the oil myself, and recommended it over the drain plug if I were to change the oil myself. I expressed some hesitance on the bash plate on the BS BL and they told me don't stress, it's easy... just some extra time.
4. We talked about fun like about a customer that showed up with 102 miles total on the oil (who they refused to service) and customers showing up after 20k+ oil changes where it was basically gelatin, also the joys of the posts on /r/justrolledintotheshop on reddit.

So for whatever it's worth, I went to a quick lube place, they didn't want to strip my drain plug and took a little longer, and talked shop and gave me advice on how they would change oil on the BS for engine longevity. Paid more than I would have to change the oil myself of course, but I found the discourse interesting.

For me, if I do the next one myself, sounds like the lesson learned is on getting an extractor from Amazon...

 

[Mark S.]

The drain plug/oil pan on my Badlands is no different from those in other cars I've owned over the past 10 years.

 

[sajohnson]

So a very interesting experience at the local Valvoline having my first BS BL oil change at a hair over 3000 miles ODO. I figured I was getting the synth blend out of it for full synthetic. Went beyond what I expected from them

1. The sticker that printed automatically getting the oil change said +3K miles above where I came in but they told me that 3K was "early" even for factory oil. Techs (about four guys above one guy below) disagreed on whether factory break-in oil would be full synth or synth blend (manual doesn't specify). They said 3K was the absolute minimum or they would have refused service and they recommended 5K intervals particularly for direct injection turbos, but then other techs interjected 7500 was fine on full synthetic. None believed 10K miles was a suitable interval or to trust the IOLM.
2. When I talked about changing the oil myself and how 10qts of full synth at costco was $32 on sale [vs. around $80 with a Groupon for them out the door - $68 for $99.99 promo value, plus extra oil beyond 5L, plus tax] to do it with labor and a filter) they said yeah easier letting us take care of it but you can do it at home and gave advice. They said hey, full synthetic of appropriate spec is fine if handled appropriately.
3. They used extraction rather than the drain plug, they explained that the plug design in the BS was a troublesome one where it was easy to break the drain plug and they'd already paid for two oil pan replacements so they would rather extract it. The tech who did the front stuff (PC, calling out oil, etc.) did say I could get an extractor pump off Amazon if I wanted to change the oil myself, and recommended it over the drain plug if I were to change the oil myself. I expressed some hesitance on the bash plate on the BS BL and they told me don't stress, it's easy... just some extra time.
4. We talked about fun like about a customer that showed up with 102 miles total on the oil (who they refused to service) and customers showing up after 20k+ oil changes where it was basically gelatin, also the joys of the posts on /r/justrolledintotheshop on reddit.

So for whatever it's worth, I went to a quick lube place, they didn't want to strip my drain plug and took a little longer, and talked shop and gave me advice on how they would change oil on the BS for engine longevity. Paid more than I would have to change the oil myself of course, but I found the discourse interesting.

For me, if I do the next one myself, sounds like the lesson learned is on getting an extractor from Amazon...

Thanks for posting what they said.

It's good that they refuse to change oil that has less than 3,000 miles on it.

I seem to recall reading something here about some early oil pans that had drain plug hole threads that stripped easily, or maybe it was the boss breaking loose? In any case, AFAIK, that issue has been resolved. As Mark said, the oil pan and drainplug are the same as any others I've seen in almost 50 years of working on cars.

That said, an extractor pump would be easier. I've never used one because they are cheating. <j/k>

It seems like an extractor is likely to leave more oil in the bottom of the pan -- where most of the contaminants are. Still, if you only leave a few ounces of old oil that's probably alright.

As they said, the bash/skid plate is not difficult to remove, but it does take some time (maybe ~10-15 minutes total for R&R?). I suppose that's another reason to consider the extractor, but it's not a big deal. In another thread there is a very good video that goes through the oil change procedure for a BS BL.

 

[Dennis Kilbride]

I had a similar dark green color with a 1996 Ford F150 new. My brother-in-law thought it was antifreeze. Somehow a guy locally in town heard my story, claimed he worked at Ford and would make some inquiries for me as to why it was greenish. He did call back but couldn't really explain why it was greenish but that the engineers said I would be fine. I ran the truck for 96K and sold it. Was actually the best F150 truck I ever owned from Ford. Other than routine maintenance and a thermostat in radiator that's all I did to it.

 

[Ksnau]

So I decided to use the points from the Ford vehicles I've bought recently and had the dealer change my oil it was a little scary but everything I was able to check afterward seemed okay as far as I could tell I wasn't too sure about the synthetic blend I use, but I don't drive super hard on my car so we'll see how it works out and I'll honestly probably bring mine in next time for an early oil change. Because yeah I normally only use mobile one full synthetic but it was just nice not having to pay for the oil stuff and sit in the air conditioning and get work done while they do it. But definitely a new experience and kind of scary.

Also for the oil filter I will say I have not tried this yet but and I saw it on a YouTube video so I don't know how much you should trust it. But what they did is they just took a punch and punched a little hole in the oil filter so it all drained out of the little hole in the bottom of the filter. So when you screwed it off there's no oil to leak everywhere. I'm still a ways away from my second oil change, but whenever I try this I'll try to remember to post how it worked out.

 

[vegasvic]

I performed my 1st oil change today. Easy. Brand new car so everything was clean! I was going to take it Ford but they couldn't get me in for 10 days. No quick lane here in Aberdeen SD. I was thinking all those bolts/screws/plastic push things were going to be a pain so Ford could do it.
O'Reilly's: 6qt Motorcraft oil, oil filter = $59.97. Not all that cheap.

I have drive up ramps. Laid down a large piece of cardboard and crawled under. Loosened the 2 bolts in the back only. Removed the 4 Torx screws holding down a liner on the front portion. Removed the last 4 bolts carefully. I slid the skid plate forward under the liner so the slotted part of the plate released from the rear 2 bolts that I loosened earlier. Moved plate rear-ward and put on ground. The plate is a little heavy but not too much. All the bolts/screws (no plastic push things) are all reachable without having to slide all around underneath. The oil pan bolt and oil filter are pretty close together and thats nice. I took off the oil filler cap on top of the engine. I removed the bolt from the oil pan and drained my oil into the oil "bucket". I then slid the bucket a little forward and unscrewed the oil filter enough for the oil to slide down the filter and land in the bucket. No oil hit the liner.

Replaced plug. Put on new filter. Wiped everything down. Added oil on top with no engine cover to get in the way! Drove around a few blocks to see if I had any leaks then replaced the skid plate. All pretty easy and pretty clean.

At almost $60 in "stuff" I'd be curious how much Ford would charge. Might be worth it to use them. They "should" know what they're doing and if they don't they're Ford-they can fix it. No waste oil or filter. No oil running down your arm. No garage clean up.

vic

 

[sajohnson]

I performed my 1st oil change today. Easy. Brand new car so everything was clean! I was going to take it Ford but they couldn't get me in for 10 days. No quick lane here in Aberdeen SD. I was thinking all those bolts/screws/plastic push things were going to be a pain so Ford could do it.
O'Reilly's: 6qt Motorcraft oil, oil filter = $59.97. Not all that cheap.

I have drive up ramps. Laid down a large piece of cardboard and crawled under. Loosened the 2 bolts in the back only. Removed the 4 Torx screws holding down a liner on the front portion. Removed the last 4 bolts carefully. I slid the skid plate forward under the liner so the slotted part of the plate released from the rear 2 bolts that I loosened earlier. Moved plate rear-ward and put on ground. The plate is a little heavy but not too much. All the bolts/screws (no plastic push things) are all reachable without having to slide all around underneath. The oil pan bolt and oil filter are pretty close together and thats nice. I took off the oil filler cap on top of the engine. I removed the bolt from the oil pan and drained my oil into the oil "bucket". I then slid the bucket a little forward and unscrewed the oil filter enough for the oil to slide down the filter and land in the bucket. No oil hit the liner.

Replaced plug. Put on new filter. Wiped everything down. Added oil on top with no engine cover to get in the way! Drove around a few blocks to see if I had any leaks then replaced the skid plate. All pretty easy and pretty clean.

At almost $60 in "stuff" I'd be curious how much Ford would charge. Might be worth it to use them. They "should" know what they're doing and if they don't they're Ford-they can fix it. No waste oil or filter. No oil running down your arm. No garage clean up.

vic

It sounds like you did a good job and it went smoothly.

On the cost, I used Mobil 1 -- $33 for a 5 quart jug. Other name brand synthetic oil (Pennzoil, Castrol, Valvoline) was $30/5 quarts. Big box store brands (100% synthetic) are as little as ~$4/per quart.

Motorcraft filters can be found for $5 each or maybe less. I paid about $7 each at our local dealer.

So it can be done for about $40 (or less with store brand oil), but that's still a chunk of change, and as you pointed out, there is the used oil and filter to recycle, as well as the time and hassle involved.

I've been a DIY guy my whole life, but there is something to be said for paying to have a job done by someone else -- hopefully correctly.

Whether or not to have the dealer do oil changes is a decision everyone needs to make for themselves, based in part on:

* The ethics of the dealership (for example, do they constantly try to upsell unnecessary service?)
* The competence of the mechanics/techs
* The average wait time
* How far away the dealer is
* How much they charge (total, out the door, incl. 'shop supplies', etc.)
* If the owner is OK with the Ford synthetic 'blend' (it's fine, but most DIYers use 100% synthetic)
* If the owner is comfortable doing the job (experience, tools, storage of used oil)
* If the owner has any HOA rules (etc.) to deal with

In my case, I've been working on cars so long it's almost inertia to keep doing it. It's easier/quicker for me to put a car up on the lift -- or, in the case of the BS BL I just used ramps and cardboard, like you did. It took a little longer than normal because of the skid/bash plate, but as you described, removing it is not a big deal.

Not only is it easier and quicker (than driving to the dealership and waiting) it's less expensive -- and I avoid having to deal with employees. I'm not saying they are always unpleasant, but they can be.

That said, I can totally understand why a BS owner might decide to go to the dealer.

 

[PaulOinMA]

Rockauto has 12-filter Sell Packs of Motorcraft filters. Great price.

 

[Mrmike]

I'm 79 years old and a retired mechanic. I have two vehicles that use the same oil (Mobil 1 5w-20) and oil filter (Motorcraft FL-910S).
I buy my filters online for under $6 each. I get 6 at a time because I change oil on both cars twice a year. I usually buy my oil at Wallmart. I just purchased 4 5quart jugs for about $26 each. That figure out to about $35-$40 per oil change. Not only is that cheaper than a Quick Lube or dealer, but I know it's done correctly. I know not everyone is a DIY'er, but if you are shop around and you can get your oil and filters pretty reasonable. Here in New York state any store that sells motor oil has to take back used oil, so disposition is no problem.

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