I had a new engine put in a 1999 F250 Super Duty a year ago. That was a situation and related to a dishonest and incompetent mechanic that I used. Anyway, the truck is only has like 4000 miles on the new engine and has had one oil change since what came in the factory fill at like 500 miles. I figure it is due for a change.
I have 2 jugs of Mobil 1 5W20 Truck and SUV oil on hand, whatever that means, plus a filter. What is the difference between this oil and car oil?
Anyway, several people have said I should have just gone to synthetic on the first change and it wouldn’t hurt anything and others say I should drive it longer before changing from conventional to synthetic. Any opinions on this? It is a factory remanufactured Ford Motorcraft 5.4L 2 valve engine if that matters.
Seems like it’s just a good oil:
“ Mobil 1™ Truck & SUV motor oils are designed for gasoline-powered trucks and SUVs and are recommended by ExxonMobil for all types of modern gasoline-powered vehicles, including high-performance turbocharged, supercharged, multi-valve fuel injected engines found in passenger cars, SUVs, light vans and light trucks.”
I had a really good experience with synthetic oil.on an air cooled lawnmower engine. I bought the mower in 1992. The manual calls for 30.weight heavy detergent oil for the Briggs and Stratton engine. Three years ago the mower was using considerable amount of oil and was puffing clouds of blue smoke. I decided to try synthetic 10W-30 oil.in the engine. At my Rural King farm store, the straight 30 wright non-synthetic oil was $1.79.a quart and full synthetic 10W-30.eas $2.79 a quart under the house brand label. The synthetic oil cut the oil consumption by 75%. However, late last summer the oil consumption went up again. The synthetic oil bought me almost three more seasons of use. I think it was worth $1 a year to go to synthetic oil. I will probably go to a battery powered mower this year. Toward the end of the mowing season I was wearing my N95 face mask when mowing due to the oil smoke.
I have had several small abused/neglected engines really come back to life after switching to synthetic oil. I would maybe try Rotella T6 15W40 in one that calls for a straight 30W and see what happens. This is a high detergent oil and can help clean out deposits left in the rings, etc.
I have had several mowers that would just bog down and smoke until I swapped to the Rotella T6. I have also used the 5W40 flavor on other outdoor engines calling for 10W30 with great results. I seem to come across people dumping old mowers that just need the carb cleaned quite frequently. Many of these are all sludged up of course but the rest of the mower is fine. Some run like a champ after an oil change and others just fly apart rather rapidly with the new cleaner oil being thinner than the sludge the engine had worn into.
If buying a new mower, I would buy one now to avoid not being able to get one.
I am definitely a believer in synthetic oil and feel the extra cost is worth it. I buy on sale to get several at a time and it really isn’t much more than conventional with me doing it myself. Oil changes are one job where it actually saves time for me to do this myself than to make an appointment, take it in, etc. I am just more concerned if the new engine is broken in enough to be changed over to synthetic.
The oil I have on hand is this. I am not sure what the difference between regular car oil and truck/SUV oil is but this is a truck so why not? It was the same price.
Typically, synthetic oils can last far beyond 10K mark, but it is suggested that one change the oil at that 10K mark. But we’ve opted to change our synthetic oil every 5K miles even though the oil change light would come on at 3K miles.
Ah - No. Many manufacturers are now reassessing these long oil change intervals after seeing way too many engine failures. It might be fine for people who keep their vehicles 150k miles. But beyond, many of these engines are having internal problems. Sticky rings is one a particular problem Toyota is seeing.
What vehicle do you own that has an oil change light coming on every 3k miles? 3k oil change intervals went away over 20 years ago. Oil life monitors haven’t been around that long. I’m curious.
Toyota has a service light that comes on every 5k miles. Recommended oil change is 10k miles, but the tire rotation is every 5k miles. I do oil changes every 5k miles. Worked well for me.
The only vehicle I have owned that turned on the oil change light anywhere near 3000 miles was the truck I used to tow heavy loads. The shortest change was 3700 miles.
I am OCD about oil changes… use the best oil and change it on time, or better, early. Oil changes are cheaper than engine rebuilds.
I’m guessing that his vehicle is subjected to Severe Service, and that the computer’s algorithms are calling for a 3k interval based on that type of usage.
I ended up changing over to synthetic on that change. Several folks told me the engine is probably mostly broken in due to the quality of modern manufacturing within a few hundred miles. It hadn’t used any oil on the 2nd change so I figure it is broken in enough to go to synthetic.
I pretty much go with 5000 miles or once a year, whichever comes first. These trucks mainly get long trips but not often so figure this isn’t like short distance driving where moisture and contaminants build up quickly.
One thing I try to take note of if there aren’t baffles in the way is how the inside of the valve cover and top of the head look with the oil fill cap off. This is the first place where sludge starts to accumulate. As long as this looks clean, I see no reason to go less than 5K changes.
Receipts for car I bought had 3k oil changes in feb and July. It’s at 3k now. But I’ve driven it 100 miles in last month. So, oil is at 3100 miles and 6 months old? Oil is hardly dark.
I’ve only had one factory remanufactured engine and used the same oil, but that was before synthetic. I did drive it 200 miles though without shutting it off so it loosened up a little by the time I got home. Usually new cars like to see 600 miles or so for break in and I rarely go beyond 2000 miles for the first oil change. I have never been concerned about using up oil I have on hand and even recycled new oil that I couldn’t use any more. Engines are expensive.
I ran the truck up to about 200 miles, then changed with store brand dino oil with a break in additive that was suggested. I ran that up to 3000 miles total and then changed it with the synthetic.
The engine came with oil in it when it was installed. I was told to change it at 3000 but I wanted to get any debris out of the engine. Even with the filter, I could DEFINITELY see metal dust in the old oil. I have been told some of that could be from the break-in additives as well but I didn’t see that in the second change which also had a break-in additive.
I really see this on mowers and small engines. Run them about 5 minutes and change the oil when new. One of my friends calls oil from these engines when new “silver soup” due to all the metal flakes. It looks like metallic paint.
This was a Ford 5.4L engine with a Motorcraft filter installed from the factory. I went with the same exact filter on the second change, then a NAPA platinum after that since the Ford was out of stock.
Never heard the 5 minute rule but my pressure washer said to change after 5 hours. I couldn’t stand to wait that long and changed it about 3 but didn’t look at the oil.
