Ford Knocks 3,000-mile Intervals


"– or even 10,000 on the new 2011 Mustang depending on your driving habits.” The 2011 Mustang features a die-cast aluminum deep-sump oil pan that Ford claims provides for up to 10,000-mile oil change intervals"

“Special operating conditions are 5,000 miles, 6 months or 200 hours of engine operation, whichever occurs first, and that’s for severe usage like taxis and things of that nature,”

Of course the "iffy lube" places scream, because it hits them, instead of you, right in the pocketbook. And the "recreational oil changers" on this board, you know who you are, will still cry "cheap insurance".

Jim

 

meh - I haven't run a 3k interval in a decade. The 351 in the Bronco, and the 302 in another Bronco before it, go 5k on Rotella 10w30 and the 3.0 in the Taurus goes 10k on Pennzoil Platinum. I ran a '03 F150 to 10k on PP as well before its tranny seized (PO's fault). I did UOAs on the car and F150 to prove to myself I wasn't hurting anything and haven't looked back. The 3k interval is just a waste. It's "insurance" on the same level as whatever "insurance" the tele-spammer was pushing that just hit my cell.

If I had the Iffy-Lube boys pushing a 3k interval on me I might ask if it's because they know their oil and filter are substandard. That's the only way I can see to read their recommendation. It's like a tire maker BRAGGING about a 25K tread life when everyone else starts at 40k.

 

It dies hard.

What surprises me the most isn't that people still do it, but that many still insist that it is absolutely, positively, necessary. To the point of near violence.

And do not even get me started on tranny fluid temp.

 

My old 78 Mercury Zypher 3.3L called for 7500 mile OCI's back then!!!!

BUT the small print had a severe service caveat that called for 3k mile, or 3 month OCI's, if you met any one of the severe service call out's.

I've never done a 3 month OCI.
I have always changed my vehicles oil twice yearly, which usually added up to something between 3-5K miles, or 6 months of mostly urban short trip driving.

I'm not aware of premature oil changes doing any engine harm, so if it makes one feel good, change the danged stuff sooner.

The oil companies still have to pump the crude out of the ground to make all kinds of other petro products, so if we cut back on motor oil OCI's, where do you suppose they'll store all of the excess base oil?????

Heck this oil may as well be in my crankcase doing it's thing!!!! lol

Yup the newer recipe lubes & tighter sealed, hotter running engines, don't polute the oil as fast as they used too & the base oil quality & ad pack is Way better than 30 years ago & oil filtering is better too.

Engines run hotter, so they boil off condensation quicker & better, so that, with a better recipe, crankcase lubes can now tolerate longer use, without breaking down & sludge or varnish the engine up, or deplete the oils base number & havng acids build up & eat the bearings & there are thousands of UOA's on many brands of oil, in all sorts of engines, driven under all sorts of conditions all over the country, on sites like Bob-Is-The-Oil-Guy, to demonstrate it's posible to go way longer than 3 months, or 3K miles on our OCI!!!!

As has been said, if in doubt about your OCI for your engine & type of driving, have an UOA done to see how your oil is doing!!!!

But for less than the cost of the UOA, I can just change the oil & filter & know for sure that I'm good to go!!!! lol

 

I think that we found one:

 

The main drawback I see to a 7500 to 10000 mile OCI is consumption between changes. You get a lot of people who never open the hood of their vehicle to check fluid levels and rely on a dealer or lube place to service it. That is not so critical on vehicles with large capacity oil pans but if you have 5-6 quart pans it may be a concern.

My 6.8l takes 6 quarts and I got a UOA with TBN done after 5 months and 3k miles.(MC 5w-20 blend) My TBN was lower than I expected around 2. It gave me a good baseline in my type of driving conditions.

 

You have a point, but people never check their tire pressure either.

Taken to the extreme, you are suggesting people buy new tires every month to make sure that their tire pressure is correct.

Ron White said it best, "You can't fix stupid".

 

Not suggesting anything.

 

Maybe that would have been true in 1940, but modern refineries do not produce any lube base oil at all. Everything is converted to fuels, LPG, gasoline, jet, diesel, heating oil and coke. The demand for aviation gasoline during WWII led to the development of those processes.

Base oil plants are specialized refineries to themselves. Shell is closing one in Canada, Chevron is building one on the Gulf coast, but we are currently importing a lot of Group III from Korea. If Shell can get its Quatar GTL plant into full production, there will be more Group III+, but they plan to use it all and not sell it on the open market. There is even a developing shortage of waxes, since there is little Group I solvent-refined base oil made anymore and wax was the byproduct. Shell makes XHVI Group III+ for Rotella T6 and its "Ultra" products from slack waxes.

Jim

 

I can see both sides of the arguement here.
Auto manufacters will advise letting the oil change interval go longer than some people like, but, they build/sell autos for a living.
Oil change places want people to change the oil/filter every 3K miles, but, they change oil for a living.

Yes, oil quality has improved drastically over the last century, as well as engine building technology.
However, as engines get more miles on them, oil consumption starts to increase. Many newer vehicles have a total capacity of 3-4 qts, which doesn't allow much room for error when it comes to running a bit low. As pointed out, some people don't even know how to check the oil, much less open the derned hood.

 

Mercedes solved that with a simple sensor and "add oil" light on the dash. As I recall, one of our Ford Rangers, I think the 1991 4.0, had the same thing.

Jim

 

LOL, my 1983 Mazda RX7 has a low oil light/alarm, as well as a low coolant light/alarm. I've never seen or heard the low oil, but the low coolant one saved me from a MAJOR headache when a heater hose sprung a leak. Ironically, it was the hose I had just replaced a couple weeks earlier. New hose, and it suffered a failure, while the rest of the old hoses remained intact........
Isn't new teknolagy great?

 

Daughters 77 Celica had all kinds of low warning lights, bells, whistles & a ditigial readout display for those that could read, or were remiss in underhood checks & maintenance.

Before every drive, I have developed the habit of checking undereath for leak puddles & pull the hood at every fill up, to check All of the fluids, including the tranny & battery!!!!

 

Never saw a low oil light on any Ford I own and or have worked on. They had lights to signal no oil pressure but thats all I ever saw. Don't own or work on anything newer than a 2004 though. Where is this sensor and does anyone have a part number for it?

 

You can also look at it as those who never pop their hood or wait for a oil warning light to come on, flash, or beep don't know where the dipstick is even located let alone pulled out and checked offset oil usage from those of us who change oil and oil filters sooner rather than later, at or around 5,000 mile intervals.
Oil may still be good, but it still must suspend combustion byproducts in it. I'd rather eliminate those byproducts sooner in my own engine and have a fresh additive package which is essential for cat life and emission systems.