Which engine do you have? If you said it, I missed it. The EcoBoost is a bit more picky with oil and change intervals because of it being direct injected. There is no fuel to wash over the valves to keep them clean like in other engines, so there have been cases of carbon build-up on the valves. Also, because of the pressurized intake, they are known to collect a lot more fuel in the oil. For those reasons, it is recommended to change the oil more often than 10k (most do 5k) and run a good full-syn oil. I certainly will be. If you have one of the NA engines, they can handle the longer OCIs, IMHO. I would probably still only go about 7500, or every six months to fit my annual mileage and driving style.

 

My Blackstone oil sample directly refutes your statement on when you "should" change oil in an ecoboost motor. (at least under my driving conditions which was commuting and some towing) Everything looked great and they even recommended going longer on the next oil change which would have put me at about 11,000 miles. I had 9,689 miles on that oil sample.

Here was the write up:

ROB: Copper and silicon are reading high in this report, but that's normal during wear-in, and these
don't appear to be problems. Copper comes from brass/bronze parts wearing in, and silicon is from sealers
used in putting the engine together. Both of these numbers should drop over the next couple of oil changes,
although metals may never get all the way down to average on long oil runs like this. Averages are based
on just 5,700 miles of oil use, so higher wear is okay on a longer run. Fuel at 1.3% isn't an issue and neither
is the low viscosity, so try 11,000 miles next oil.

 

Fair enough. I will be sending a sample to BS in about 1 or 2k. I don't know which oil the dealership put in it, other than I'm sure it's MC. If you Google "EcoBoost fuel in oil" or "EcoBoost Carbon Buildup", you'll see where I'm coming from. While BS can tell you about the fuel in the oil, they can't tell you about the carbon issue. BTW, there still is no cleaning procedure yet, so the "fix" is replacing the heads.

 

Like most here, I made my first oil change on my 13 5.0 a little early...3000 miles if I remember correctly. Yes, it's probably a hangover from old thinking, but it doesn't hurt anything and probably helps with peace of mind to the owner and the only disadvantage is a few unnecessary $ out of pocket. Since then, depending on how I've been driving, the OLM has been prompting my changes anywhere from 8000 - 9000 miles. With 30,000 + miles on the odometer, I've never had to add a drop between changes. This truck just continues to put a huge smile on my face!

 

I understand your thoughts about the fuel in the oil...nature of the beast. BS stated when pulling a sample DRIVE your vehicle for 20 minutes and then stop and pull a sample from the middle of the oil draining so you greatly reduce overly saturated fuel in the oil. If you let it sit there and warm up and idle and then take your sample your fuel in the oil will be quite elevated.

The procedure for cleaning off those carbon deposits for now is put your foot in the throttle often! (until something else can be done)

 

No problem with that!! The other "fix" (really preventative measure) is to use a good syn oil and keep it changed to keep the PCV from sending nasty, pressurized vapors through the intake, which was my initial point. And to use a vapor trap (another mod I need to get done ASAP).

 

Best thing you can do for your engine. Change the oil and change the filter. I have nothing to back this with, but I bet you can use the cheapest oil and change it every 3k and get less wear than using the best oil and changing every 10k. That's because you are removing the crap from your oil more often and that is more the cause of wear. What do you guys think?

 

I think someone reset your oil change monitor. All they had to do was have the ignition on, engine not running and both brake pedal / gas pedal depressed.

 

Weird, that's not how it's done on my truck.

 

I just set mine at 50% when I change my oil.

 

This is not a Chevy forum.

Fords are not reset that way.
.

 

Mine requires that I go into the computer menu to reset.

 

I think that's what an oil filter does.

Use any oil recommended by the manufacturer.
They can all go the 10K.

The point of 10k changes is to reduce ownership cost and conserve natural resources.

Changing your oil earlier does nothing... other than waste money and provide a sense of comfort for people not wanting to accept the newer oil interval recommendations.

I go ~9500 with an oil that meets Ford specs. and probably have less wear than folks changing full synthetic at 5K.
.

 

I read everything--I don't think you know what you are talking about:

1. Do I care about conserving resources--Yes and I recycle my oil.
2. Do I care about a few bucks for taking care of the truck--No.
3. "does nothing," you might want to read up on that. Getting the dirt out of your engine is the best thing you can do.

All I am asking you to do is read up on the subject. Bob the oil guy is pretty good, but there are others too.

 

Yea, your probably right.