How confident is everyone going this long between oil changes like the manual says we can now. And why are we able to go this long now when my 02 was done every 5000. Using a synthetic I would feel better about going 10000 but is it safe using a dino to go this long now? Thanks.

 

If you use the truck for any purpose remotely associated with a heavy duty truck, the manual states that oil should be changed every 5,000 miles. Based on prior threads, it would appear most folks on this forum are changing oil every 5,000.

 

im going on my 3rd ford diesel pickup and always used synthetic oils and lubes and never changed it in less than 30,000 miles and i tow very big loads.

 

And I wondered if changing my oil at every 3500 miles was to far apart

 

On my '02 truck, I go 5000 between changes using Rotela and the oil was never real dark. My '08 only has 2800 miles on it and the oil is black as the ace of spades. I will change it at 3000 miles and use the new Synthetic Rotela. I guess I will keep an eye on it to see how it burns. It would be nice to get 10,000 miles between changes.

 

I have a similar experince. I changed oil every 10,000 on my 2000 7.3 and the oil looked good...it was synthetic. The oil I changed out of the new 08 looked as black as it could be. I will be switching to synthetic as well.

 

I change every 10,000. In my 6.0, I changed every 7,500 just as the manual stated and didn't have any problems for 80,000 miles. Granted, I will likely not have my truck much over 100,000 miles IF I even get that far, so take it for what it's worth.

 

When I got mine new, it had about 2,300 miles on it (Dealer show car) - and I had them change the oil up front to 15w-40 (as I live in Texas and use it to tow). I now have about 12,000 miles on the truck and picked up some Rotella-T 15w-40 and a new filter to change it again this weekend. I know 10,000 miles seems excessive - but remember, there is 15 quarts in the crankcase. The more oil capacity - the longer you can go between changes. And besides, if Ford said 10,000 miles in the manual - you can almost bet you can run up to 15,000 miles without damaging the truck as they are always ultra-conservative (personally, I wouldn't though).

I say stick to the manufacturers specs and you will be fine. Change it more often, or put in synthetic if you just feel more comfortable and don't mind spending the extra cash. Either way, you will be fine IMO.

Dan

 

On my 99 7.3 PSD i change my oil every 3500 miles, on my 08 6.4 PSD i am changing it every 5000 miles.

 

On my 04 and 05 with the 6.0, every 5K for oil change. New 08 with 6.4 used for work, I split the difference in the manual, oil change every 7500 miles. I am considering moving upto 10K.

 

Let me get this straight. You spend about 50K for a diesel truck and then pinch pennies on oil changes? I change mine it every 5K, so far once, and will stick with 5K. I have always been a believer in frequent oil changes and i have never had an engine failure in over 35 years of hard driving.

 

Hey - you can change the oil every 50 miles if that is what you want to do. I mean - why limit yourself got 5k miles? Bottom line is - if the manufacturer of a car says 10,000 miles between oil changes - and they are the ones who have to warranty the vehicle and repair anything that fails under their specifications - why do you feel this is "pinching pennys"? From my experience, they lean towards the conservative side anyway.

I follow the manufacturers specs (and sometimes even go over a bit between changes) and I have never had an engine failure in over 35 years of hard driving as well...

BTW - not flaming you, just giving my rebuttle.

 

I dont concur, becasue if you go by the Manufactures spec, they also have a spec for changeing the oil at 5,000 miles. I no for a fact that at some point everone falls into the items they describe under that spec. What would stop Ford from saying you should have been following that spec and not warranting items on your truck. Seems like a double standard to me.

In further, the spec's you refer to are the max limits. Why take things to the max. IMO,I've always found its always better to be safer than sorry!

Just a rebuttle dont take it personal.

 

I'm intrigued that you guys with the 6.4 say your oil is black. Can somebody come up with an explanation for this? I change my 02 every 3500 & it isn't very dark by that time. I have always been a stickler on maintenance & since it's not under warranty anymore, oil is cheap insurance for me.

 

Don't take this as chevy is better statement, but my wife has an Escalade with an oil monitoring system that tells you what the oil life is at any given time. With only 6 quarts of oil, this thing will run 7,000 miles + before it "needs" an oil change. I know gas vs. diesel, but I really don't think with 15 quart capacity that 10,000 miles is excessive.