# 1996 Ford F-150 - Oil change time **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** ford\ **Created:** [May 2, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715 "2020-05-02T15:48:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![JamesWiley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@JamesWiley](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JamesWiley)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/1 "2020-05-02T15:48:53Z")
I have two trucks and I’m retired. I don’t drive a lot so each truck is driven roughly 1,500 miles per year. I’ve heard you need to change your oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles but I feel it’s a waste of money if the oil is clean. It’s been 3 months and I’ve driven one of my trucks 200 miles. I don’t drive much anyway but with the coronavirus and orders to stay at home I drive even less. I use regular oil and check it every month. If it remains clean, how long can I use it before it needs to be changed. I have a hard time believing it needs to be changed every 3,000 miles if the vehicle isn’t being driven that much. In this day and time I need to save as much money as possible. Could you please provide some guidance. Thank you!!! ---
**Author:** ![GorehamJ](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/gorehamj/32/24103_2.png) [@GorehamJ](https://community.cartalk.com/u/GorehamJ)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/2 "2020-05-02T15:52:09Z")
The vehicle is now a quarter-century old. The chances are that the engine won’t be the system that ends the life of this old truck. I’d change it yearly when I got my annual state inspection sticker. Nobody with any sense changes oil every three months. ---
**Author:** ![FoDaddy](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/fodaddy/32/717_2.png) [@FoDaddy](https://community.cartalk.com/u/FoDaddy)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:09pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/3 "2020-05-02T17:09:54Z")
In your case, I would just change each truck’s oil and filter annually. Also just visually looking at the oil isn’t necessarily going to tell you it’s condition. For example on a diesel engine the oil might turn black a week or two after an oil change, however it’s safe and reasonable to keep the oil in the crankcase until it’s next scheduled oil change. ---
**Author:** ![keith](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/keith/32/5518_2.png) [@keith](https://community.cartalk.com/u/keith)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/4 "2020-05-02T17:52:22Z")
If you check your owners manual or service schedule, I think you will find that the recommended oil change interval is at least 5000 miles and 6 months. The time requirement is based on a vehicle that is driven daily as the start/shutdown of the engine is the hardest on the oil. If the reason that you only put 1500 miles a year on each truck is because you don’t drive them daily, you can go a year or more between the oil changes because you have fewer engine start/shutdown cycles than the engineers based their recommendation on. ---
**Author:** ![JamesWiley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ed655f/32.png) [@JamesWiley](https://community.cartalk.com/u/JamesWiley)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 9:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/5 "2020-05-02T21:43:12Z")
Thanks for the advice. I really appreciate it!!! ---
**Author:** ![lion9car](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/59ef9b/32.png) [@lion9car](https://community.cartalk.com/u/lion9car)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/6 "2020-05-02T23:42:16Z")
Why do you do your maintenance based on what you “heard” instead of what the manufacturer tells you to do? ---
**Author:** ![db4690](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/db4690/32/2583_2.png) [@db4690](https://community.cartalk.com/u/db4690)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2020, 12:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/1996-ford-f-150-oil-change-time/163715/7 "2020-05-03T00:44:11Z")
> [@lion9car](#): > > Why do you do your maintenance based on what you “heard” instead of what the manufacturer tells you to do? We’re having THE EXACT SAME DISCUSSION in another thread 😆