The coolant change interval was 100,000 miles for the shiny new 6.0 liter I bought back in 2004 and look how well that worked out. I won’t be letting my coolant get to 200k. Just can’t do it after dissecting that old truck’s oil cooler. I know the new ones are silicate free but that doesn’t make me feel any better. Now if I could just make peace with letting my ATF run to 150,000!

 

I do. Religiously.

 

Do you do it yourself or take it in?

 

ALWAYS myself. I don't trust anyone else doing it. No one cares for my truck like I do. My first oil change was free at the dealer. I didn't take it there for that. I do save all receipts while vehicle is under warranty if proof is ever needed. As a sanity check, I just looked at my 1992 van. It has 160k and has had 59 oil changes in the past 27 years. That's 2.7k per change. Some of those might have been time vs mileage based. I will add, with this truck, I might go to 4k OCI.

 

3,000 miles for me. If I miss, it's not because I think it doesn't need it ... it's because I'm stupid and lazy. My engine, the 5.4L 3V on my 2005 F-150, demands clean oil ... super clean oil. I always follow recommendations on oil change. I do it myself to save a little money ... though there isn't as much saving these days as when I was younger.

While I understand the skepticism behind the extended life of this new coolant, I haven't seen much of the "why," other than various sentiments that "it simply cannot be." Admittedly, I don't know much about coolant or what causes it to break down and need replacing. Presumably, a conversation around extended life coolants should be about these failure modes and the ability of the new formulations to mitigate them (or not) ... I hope this thread turns into a more thorough examination of the claims of superiority and why those claims may or may not be true.

 

What is your preferred oil?

 

For my 2017 and 2019 SDs I have been using the recommended Motorcarft 5w30 Synthetic Blend. For all of my other vehicles (less the 2002 7.3 F350 diesel) for the past ~30 years, I have used Castrol standard. My 1991 Jeep Cherokee had 267k when I sold it still running strong. Didn't burn or leak a drop of oil. My 1992 van while less miles, only 160k, is the same. No burn, no leak. Probably not the brand but the religious changing. You should see my vehicle spreadsheet. I'm a big believer in regular maintenance.

 

LOL see new posts and I thought this was a coolant thread.

 

Tried having my Dealer do a flush and fill using the new coolant, they told me they can't get it even though it is available even on Tasca. Got an update from my service writer. The factory won't allow the new coolant in the '17's it is ONLY for '18 and up. We have to keep the orange to maintain warranty.