06 Lariat FX4

I hit 1500 miles over the weekend and am looking at a 200 to 400 mile haul this coming weekend. I somewhat would like to stay ahead of the curve and thought it might be as good time to get a break-in oil change.

Should I get it done before the haul or am I safe to wait til 2000 miles??

Awesome truck though, not sure how I ever lived without one!! averaged 18 mpg empty at 75 mph down to the beach this weekend. I feel sorry for gassers that don't have the power we have, pay more for gas, and still get worse mileage. I am still learning it's wants with acceleration. Love the way it spools up for the hills and leaves the RPM's and the gear alone. It's like having two motors!!

 

I left my factory oil for in for 5770 mileage. No need to change it before its time.

 

My dealer insisted on a 1000 mile oil change (free) to get rid of the assembly line oil. Made sense to me, especially the free part. No idea if that's a Ford recommendation, or a dealer thing.

 

I got a coupon for my first OC free. I just figure two ways I can keep the engine working nicely is to change the oil in good time and use a decent additive.

 

I was in the same boat as you are Flux. I decided to change mine with 1800 miles. I did for the same reason DeepDoc1 stated. Plus i did the change myself as its so easy. Next time will be even easier as the fumoto valve was installed. Anyways I could have waited until I returned but was more comfortable doing it before the trip.

 

I would do it before the tow.

 

Now is the perfect time- Before the tow. I did my 06 at 1,500 miles and was surprised at the amount of metallic sludge attached to the drain plug.

 

This isn't the old days. Just follow your owners manual. When the dealer insists on a service, he's just trying to sell you something to make money.

 

Well I am sure it could be argued either way and I am also sure that it cannot hurt to get an early OC. I have been running it really hot weather and have heard it said more than once on these forums about getting rid of the factory oil, especially if towing.

So she's heading in tomorrow, unfortunately I simply don't have the time or I would DIY it.

On another note, before I posted this and read the tech forum OC procedure, I went looking for the oil filter, crawled all around the truck and underneath it too. No luck. Who'd a thunk it would be sitting right on top of the motor?? Guess I am just another converted gasser with alot to learn about these rides. Luckily this place exists or I would have probably just given up.

I did find a couple drops of oil on the bell housing and on the tranny cooling lines. Definately something to keep an eye on to see if it continues or was just a touch of oil from the factory.

Cheers and thanks

 

If it Really needed to be done, cause it would hurt the engine, Ford would say the 1st oil change needs to be done at x number of miles.

 

I have always done my trucks when it hit 1000 and every 3000 after that. A friend of mine who is a ford diesel tec recomends every 3000 .

 

If you change it too early or too often, you haven't hurt anything except your pocketbook. If you don't change it often enough, you may REALLY hurt your pocketbook. Do whatever gives you peace of mind. Start having it tested by Blackstone to set up a history and then you'll know for sure.

 

Your right, but all Ford or any manufacture wants to do is just get you out of the warrenty period. If someone wants to keep their truck longer than the warrenty period, then more often is better than less often.

If one's mileage drops due to poor oil or the like, Ford does not care as SD trucks are not mileage rated nor are they needed.

Conventional wisdom is get "break-in oil" out after 3,000 or less miles.

But you are right.... follow Ford's manual and your covered.

 

Well after closely reading the Break-IN thread in the Tech Folder I tend to think an early oil change is a very good proposition. While I probably did not do everything perfectly, like I may have idled a bit too much and towed a little too soon, I did do alot of good things, like babied it for the first 50 miles and took a nice long 500 mile road trip at varying speeds. I probably did work the engine a bit hard at around 700 miles with a 5000 lb trailer and a big steep hill, so I was a little soon on that. This was all done in high ambient temps, some of them 100+ degree days.

So chances are my rings are about as seated as they are going to get, there is some blowby in the oil from the seating process, and i might have a bit of glazing. i am quite sure the factory oil has lost some viscosity and probably has some "junk" in it. I put a drop on my finger from the dipstick and it was dirty, but not filthy.

The whole premise here is to protect the engine and make sure that it is running the best it can early in it's life. Ford only reccomended not towing for 500 miles, which is about as "dumbed down" a break-in procedure as you can imagine. Probably the greatest amount of particulate matter that will be introduced to the engine oil will happen in the first 1000 miles, according to the break-in article. Also running in high temps will degrade the oil and the 6.0 seems to be notorious for beating down the oil anyway, at least from what i have read. So I wanna give the engine it's best chance to be as good as it can be for it's lifetime, so thus I will spend the extra 100 bucks and get an early oil change.

From here on out it's Stanadyne or Diesel Kleen, oil changes at the 5k marks on the odometer, and regular oil testing. I will send off the sample at 5k and see if I did alright with the break-in.