I have a new Ford F-150 5.4 motor when should I change the break in oil. There does not seem to say anything in the manual about this, if fact the only thing I have found is in the scheduled maintance book and it say at 7500 miles. That seems a bit much what does the car talk guys think. thanks love your show!
There isn’t any break in oil, it’s just regular oil. Supposedly you can just drive up to your first scheduled oil change. Most people though, myself included will change the oil after the first thousand miles or so. Today’s engines don’t require much in the way of breaking in, at least not to the extent of the engines of 30-40 years ago.
There is no such thing as “break in oil” these days. Change the oil at the interval specified in the owner’s manual.
You could shorten the interval to 5,000 if it makes you feel more comfortable, but you don’t need to change the oil at 1,000 miles or anything like that.
That’s not true. My 2005 Acura used break-in oil. I believe Acura and Honda still do.
If the OP’s new Ford had brake-in oil in its engine, the owner’s manual would have a shorter initial change interval.
Actually Honda/Acura “break-in” oil they want to run its full course(5k-10k) and not get dumped by the nervous Nellie’s. They have words to this effect.
The important thing is the way you drive during the break-in period. Normal city and commuting, with an occasional short burst of speed, is ideal for breaking in.
However, driving at a steady slow speed on the highway will not seat the rings properly, and can lead to permanent oil consumption. Don’t overload the engine by pulling a trailer or carrying heavy loads and don’t drive at excessive speed for the first 1000 miles.
This maybe overkill but when I got new cars I’d change the oil and filter somewhere around 1,500 miles. I figured it was enough time for the motor parts to get past the initial wear in phase.
Expecting more friction and heat in a new motor would mean more stress on the oil, more sheering and more heat. The filter would catch the metal fragments and perhaps lose some efficiency too. For about 25 years I had company cars that were replaced every 2 to 3 years and I never had any motor issues or oil burners. I figured the 1,500 mile oil change may have contributed to the success with these cars.
All this is unscientific speculation but what could it hurt to have fresh oil and a clean filter at that point. Then I’d go with 5K oil changes. Now that cars are running cleaner I’m stretching my oil change freqency in line with the mfgs. recommendations rather than 5k.
“I believe Acura and Honda still do.”
My 2005 Accord EX V6 did not use break-in oil. I changed it at about 7500 miles and have done that ever since with no ill effects.
“I figured it was enough time for the motor parts to get past the initial wear in phase.”
Machine tool tolerances are significantly better than they used to be. I would not deviate from the owner’s manual unless it specifically calls for an early oil change for the first one. If you intend to change at 3000 (or 5000 or 7500) miles as a matter of course, I would wait until then.