The oil on the top of the towel is fresh out of the container, whereas the oil on the bottom is 3500 miles old...both are motorcraft 5W20...I think I'll stick with my 3K to 5K interval...

 

Change at the interval the manufacturer recommends.
Don't understand the comparison of the before and after. The oil at the bottom looks pretty good, a paper towel tells nothing. If the oil doesn't change color then I would be nervous, because it is not doing what it is supposeed to. If you want to compare oils get rid of that paper towel and send it in for analysis. Even if it were darker I still would not be concerned. If you are basing oil changes on a paper towel test, you are truely far removed from what an oil is supposed to do!

 

i'm pretty aware of how good the motorcraft oil is...but i also understand that oil doesn't hold up forever...i'd say its obvious i am overly concerned about it because the oil is still in my truck...and no, i don't care for my oil to get sludgy...oil holds dirt in suspension so after a while you need to change it out...i think 7500 miles is way too long...my owner's manual states every 5K for Normal Conditions...I usually don't wait that long...to each his own though...just don't bash people when they say they like changing their oil at intervals of 3 to 4K...its their money...let them do what they want with it...

btw...i used a paper towel to show color...i usually use a shop wrag...

 

I'm not bashing you. Sorry you feel that way. But you are posting things based on no evidence. Other than a paper towel. BTW, you will not see sludge on a paper towel. The manufacturer doesn't tell you these things for the heck of it!
Do what you want, it follows the same direction some take with higher octane fuel myth of better performance, on the contrary!

As I keep saying follow the manufacturers interval change!

 

Kevin: If you beleive everything ford tells you, you are in for a rude awakening one of these days remember ford sells vehicles the faster they wear out the faster you will need a new one, if you are driving an 04 and up 5.4 3v leave the plugs in like they recommend and let me know how they come out when you TRY to change them???? I would not trust ford motor co. as far as I could throw them!!!!!!!!

 

100%...And no, we aren't ford bashing...its just the simple truth...

 

The Army uses the oil analysis program. I saw plenty of failed engines anyway.

 

I'm with you on this one 100%

 

Most of the manuals used to also have a time interval pertaining to oil changes. If you live in a high humidity area, and just do short drives, I wouldnt wait for 7500m. My way of thinking is: whats one more oil change per yr for me, a few bucks, and a half hour, and maybe I will sidestep a little piston ring wear. Its like getting your teeth cleaned, twice a yr is recommended, but 3 times a yr will save you some money down the road. I only put approx 6K m per yr on my truck, so it will still get at least 2 oil changes in that time period. (115 degrees in the shade on some summer days), and pulling a boat on a dusty day qualifies as "special conditions" to me.

 

Take this hypothetical situation and let me hear your thoughts...

Say someone uses Mobil 1 and has from day one. Say that someone drives the vehicle 70 miles round trip (work commute) M-F. 68 of those are highway with no traffic. The drive is smooth and consistent, cruise set on ~65mph.

No extreme driving, no towing, no off-roading. What about change interval then?

 

Every 7500 miles and you're more than safe, assuming you don't live in the jungle, or desert.

I know a fellow that has every oil change analysed. He's a mod on Bob is the Oil Guy and also a local. I've talked to him several times in person, at the track, and he's a real people . He uses Castrol Syntec, but the German made stuff. He's had every other oil he uses analysed as well. After 10,000 km's of some pretty hard driving, including taking his car to the track, he's found that there was still life left in the oil.
He has always liked the results of the German Castrol, and of course Mobil 1 is a very good oil as well.

 

Well yeah, forgot that part. Owner does not live in a jungle or a desert. Driver would be happy to go 7500 between changes.

 

I've always been told that synthetic should NOT be used for the first few thousand miles of an engine's life. Seems that the piston rings will not seat to the cylendar walls with synthetic...

 

Next oil change, I change the truck over to synthetic. It will have 30,000 km's on the clock. I guess that's roughly 19,000 miles?

 

04 FXlineman - the 04's are the only ones suffering the plug problem. It's sometimes a consequence of the first year redesign where consumers take the hit. If you really want to get down to it, the plugs don't fail electrically in the 100K interval change, so from that perspecitve they have not portrayed any mis nomers. So since the interval for the 100K plug change is based on how long the plug will last and not if the plugs seize in the head, there is no logic to your statement.
With that said the plug was redesigned, for 2005 and on out.
So you think Ford wants your vehicle to wear out? That is the most bizzare statement today! In prior years I would have agreed with you on planned obsolescense, but the import market changed that mind set many years ago. Of which the domestic manufacturers had to play catch up! What brings customers back is not because their vehicle wears out, it's either because a lease is over or a customer just wants a new vehicle. Along with the customer enjoying what they had previously. Most engineering problems happen during warranty. That's a known statistic for most products.
So to think Ford purposely does it because they want repeat business based on a negative expierence of a customer. That just doesn't happen. Customer will switch brands in a hearbeat.

BTW, most negative expierences are due to the dealers mishandling. But everyone is willing to blame Ford!
Not to say Ford has messed up!

Yes I do believe Fords statement on oil change interval, especially when all the other car manufactureres have about the same change interval.