At what mileage are you guys/gals changing to synthetic oil...first oil change?

 

Did my first oil change at 1000 miles. Switched to Valvoline Premium Blue Extreme 5w40 (full synthetic). From here on out it's oil changes every 5000 miles. I don't care what the Intelligent Oil Monitor thinks my oil change frequency should be.

 

I'm the opposite, I change mine only when the oil monitor tells me to. To be honest, there is no engineering reason to change it any sooner.

So there's two completely different answers so far.

 

I agree.

Years and years of testing.

Millions of miles running engines under dozens and dozens of different circumstances.

Tens of thousands of oil analyses.

What do those stupid Ford engineers know about my truck!

 

I changed mine at 7500 miles to Lubrication Engineers 5W40. 1st Oil Change. have 10.5K on it now

 

Right...just like the marvelous 'Water in Fuel' light which illuminates when it's time to write a check for $12k to replace your entire fuel system because water has already made it through the separator and into your motor. I'm sure the engineering team that developed the IOM was light years ahead of these guys.

 

I am sure that your years of experience makes you much better qualified to make the call on oil changes.

Me? I am sort of stupid. So I do what the engineers who designed and have been testing the motor for the last 8+ years tell me to do.

 

For the last two, I ran 5k on original oil. Only 1k of that was towing in spring not summer Temps. If it was summer and towing heavy above 80 degrees, I would have made first change earlier. I usedv15w-40 for next 5k. Then swap to full synthetic 5w40.

why - I believe there is some break-in benefit to the original oil which I believe is the 10-30. Seat the rings etc. Don'the like the idea of 30 weight pulling hot and heavy. Stuck with done to get a little more ring seating breaking.

intelligent oil monitor - it is not as smart as you would like, but if it says change you better change. Not so much if the other way around. If you never hook up a trailer of any substantial weight, and do little around town driving, and do long days of uninterrupted highway driving, you can probably safely wait to change until 10k miles. That is a lot of its.

I have intentionally not reset my oil minder. It often tells me I could make it to 8k miles before changing, even when
pulling a 17k 5er most of those miles. Oil sensor does not know if you usev10-30 or synthetic, but owners manual tells you what oil to use. I suspect the oil sensor assumes you are using the right oil. Manual also says if towing, go by miles/ghouls [["hours"]], do not wait for oil minder.

 

How many ghouls do you get between oil changes? Right now mine is zero, but maybe I've not been driving through scary enough parts of the country.

 

The OP asked about changing to synthetic. All arguments about the engineering credentials at Ford aside, I do know that for "severe" duty that Ford wants you to run synthetic 5w40. The following conditions define severe operation for which engine
operation with SAE 5W-40 is recommended. Oil and oil filter
change intervals will be determined by the Intelligent Oil Life Monitor™
as noted previously.
•
frequent or extended idling (over 10 minutes per hour of normal driving)
•
low-speed operation/stationary use
•
if vehicle is operated in sustained ambient temperatures below -10°F
(-23°C) or above 100°F (38°C)
•
frequent low-speed operation, consistent heavy traffic less than
25 mph (40 km/h)
•
operating in severe dust conditions
•
operating the vehicle off road
•
towing a trailer over 1,000 miles (1,600 km)
•
sustained, high-speed driving at Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
(maximum loaded weight for vehicle operation)
•
use of fuels with sulfur content other than ultra-low sulfur diesel (ULSD)
•
use of high-sulfur diesel fuel

So irregardless of the fact that I too change my oil every 5k and ignore the monitor, I guess both sides can agree that the first change should take place, and be made to 5w40 synthetic, before towing regularly. I use my truck to tow my 18-20k 5ver all summer so I changed to 5w40 at 1k and will go to 5k changes after that like skanj0 did.

 

OK. Let me get this straight. So with respect to using 5w-40 oil, Ford engineers are pretty smart and you follow their recommendation.

But:


With respect to the IOLM, Ford engineers are not so smart and you do not follow their recommendation.

That seems a bit arbitrary to me.

How do you choose which maintenance recommendations that you are going to follow and which recommendations that you ignore?

 

It's not in any way arbitrary. I didn't say I don't agree with the oil life monitor. I said I'd be doing my own thing anyway. For me it's more of a control of when it needs done. If I do it every 5k I can keep track of it and plan it around my long and frequent RV trips. This way I can do it myself at my convenience. So, while I may be doing more often than necessary, I'm also saving myself the trouble of having a "change oil soon" message pop up 500 miles into a 1000+ trip and having to pay a dealer to do it along the way or once I get to my destination. You never know when it will trigger so you have no way to plan for it other than to change it on your own, reset your oil life, and know you're good for another 5k+. And if it happens just once on the road and you have to pay a dealer, you lost all your savings (for that season anyway) of waiting the extra miles between the 5k and the OLM telling you to change...

 

Not my manual.

And

 

That makes sense.

Previous posts by others seem to suggest that the IOLM system is completely useless, which is why they do not follow the IOLM

I find great humor in these oil posts.

15 years ago, people were steadfastly defending the 3k miles oil change interval. My guess is they came of age in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Now, people are steadfastly defending the 5k miles OCI. My guess is they came of age in the 80s and 90s.

Seems the old guard from the Flower Power generation are dying off.

 

Absolutely. If I was using my truck as a work vehicle and was always local, I'd use the OLM without question. But while my truck is a daily driver year round, most of it's miles are accumulated during the spring-fall months with our RV. We also are gypsies and love to go far. From Nova Scotia down to FL on the east coast and out as far as WI last year. Plans for further trips now that our daughter is getting older too. 2019 should find us out to Yellowstone and Glacier. That trip will likely be an oil change in itself...LOL...