My Research: Motor Oil and The Ecoboost
 

Tom's post a few months ago about fuel dilution (here) got me nerding out on oil for the EB motors. I've been searching and watching used oil analysis' on the Bob's Is The Oil Guy (BITOG) forum for the past few months and I figure it was time to share.

I'm not going to link to all the used oil analysis (UOAs) that I found; there are quite a few. So here are a few that I find interesting and seem to point to a recurring theme...

3.5 EBs:
- 2016 with Mobil 1
- 2014 with Mobil 1
- My 2016 running Mobil 1
- 2012 with Castrol Magnatec (two weights)

2.7 EBs
- 2016 running Pennzoil Platinum
- 2015 with Pennzoil Platinum
- 2016 with Valvoline Max-Life

There's a lot to see on the various UOAs. I generally look at wear metals and then look at the viscosity, flashpoint and fuel % properties at the bottom of the page. If a user paid for the TBN, that will be listed too (measurement of remaining additives in the oil. Less than 1.0 suggests the oil is done)

My thoughts:
- Fuel dilution is an issue (big?) with these motors and is something to watch out for. Some of the forum regulars think Blackstone's tests are not accurate for this parameter, so I've been watching the flashpoint value. Dropping below the minimum suggests fuel dilution and can contribute to oil thinning as well.
- I'm going to say Mobil 1 and Pennzoil are not the best oils to run in these engines for a full cycle. Even without fuel dilution, they seem to drop out of spec (shearing) down to a 20w oil within 5,000 miles. The Max-Life and Magnatec are gaining momentum as better oils for full length runs (7,000-10,000 miles).
- Motorcraft oil has a decent reputation on the forum, but is considered overpriced compared to the "aftermarket" oils. I didn't find any Motorcraft results in EB motors...but BITOG's search engine is clunky.

My Opinion: At minimum, I have no problem saying I don't recommend anyone go over 5,000 miles on their oil unless they've done an analysis and know it's holding up in their engine. Oil is cheap...engines are not. I'm curious if these oil results are a possible reason for some of the more common EB issues (timing chains, etc.). No way to really know, but if folks are running their oil for a full cycle and not aware of fuel dilution or their oil of choice not holding up, then it's feasible the oil is at minimum a contributing factor. Maybe this is why Ford changed from 5w-20 to 5w-30 after the first few years of the EB motor? But you'd think if oil was part of the problem we might be seeing more turbo issues. Who knows; just thinking out loud here...

As I mentioned in Tom's post, I'm going to run a series of tests on my oil the next few years. I've got Mobil 1 in my truck now and one more case in the garage. I'm going to change it every 4 months (about 5,000 miles) and see how it holds up. I do a lot of idling (21% on the current oil) so I expect it to be pretty thin. Then after three cycles (1 year), I'm going to switch to another oil and run it for another 3 cycles to see how the results differ. I've had a bromance with Schaeffer's oil in the past, so I think I'll try that next.

Side Note: Some of the forum regulars seem to be hating on MC oil filters, saying they tear during normal cycles. One example can be found here. But to be fair, the owner bought the truck used and they're assuming the filter was changed during the last oil change (about 6,000 miles). I also didn't research filters and don't know if there are dozens of examples on the forum or two examples and a bunch of haters piling onto the rumor. I'm going to buy a oil can cutter for my next oil change and will cut the cans open after my next few changes to see if I can find any issues.

Is it related to the high pressure direct injection, or that it's a turbo engine? If it's from DI, then I wonder if the 5.0 will have a similar fate. Have you only looked at the EcoBoost or have you looked at other engines that are Di and/or turbocharged from other manufacturers to see if there's any correlation? I doubt this is just an issue with EcoBoost, it might affect more brands.

I didn't review the 5.0 or any other motors in this depth. Seems like the general theme is turbo motors are harder on oil, but I have no idea if that's what's causing the oil breakdown.

Interesting thread here, reps sent for the research.

The spec didn't change, the 3.5L EB has always spec'd 5w30 oil in the F150. Just dug up the 2011 Owner's guide for verification, you can find it at www.motorcraftservice.com if you wanna check for yourself. :-wink

I've suspected oil change habits have something to do with phaser and timing chain wear for awhile now. Another FTE member used to own a shop near me, and he was a strong advocate of full synthetic oil and 5,000 mile change intervals. I make a habit of asking those who post about timing gear issues about their oil change habits. Most seem to follow the OLM and use dino oil. I haven't collected any data on this, so it's all anecdotal at the moment.

My theory is that fuel dilution is causing the timing chain issues, but of course I don't have any proof to back that up. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles on my EcoBoost trucks, and would suggest others do the same at this point. Not saying the factory maintenance schedule is dangerous or anything...but if you were built before 2/29/15 you may prevent an expen$ive repair down the line.

Interesting thread here, reps sent for the research.

The spec didn't change, the 3.5L EB has always spec'd 5w30 oil in the F150. Just dug up the 2011 Owner's guide for verification, you can find it at www.motorcraftservice.com if you wanna check for yourself. :-wink

I've suspected oil change habits have something to do with phaser and timing chain wear for awhile now. Another FTE member used to own a shop near me, and he was a strong advocate of full synthetic oil and 5,000 mile change intervals. I make a habit of asking those who post about timing gear issues about their oil change habits. Most seem to follow the OLM and use dino oil. I haven't collected any data on this, so it's all anecdotal at the moment.

My theory is that fuel dilution is causing the timing chain issues, but of course I don't have any proof to back that up. I changed the oil every 5,000 miles on my EcoBoost trucks, and would suggest others do the same at this point. Not saying the factory maintenance schedule is dangerous or anything...but if you were built before 5/29/15 you may prevent an expen$ive repair down the line.

Dang it...I was taking a bunch of folks at their word. Classic.

What happened on 5/29/15?

The revised design entered production, see attached. :-X21

On the forums there are literally dozens of differing opinions on which oil to use, which filter to use, dump cycles, who should do it, :-blah:-blah:-blah.

Then add to that the differing opinions given by private shops which in many cases don't know what in the hell they are talking about as evidenced by my neighbor's near disaster.

Finally add to that the differing practices of the dealers themselves. The dealer where I bought my truck insisted on a 5K dump cycle. I abided by his stern recommendations and kept my OCI's between 5K and 6k miles.

I've since moved on back to my old dealer which is closer to me and under new ownership. They seem to like the 7500 mile OCI. When I went in there last month, I asked the man to set me up with a 5000 mile reminder tag on the windshield. He shrugged his shoulders and asked if I was sure.

This all makes me wonder if there really are enough failures to get Ford's attention. There's no TSB, no amendment to the OCI in the owner's guide, no consistency at the dealer level or on the forums.

At any rate, at 72K miles, I've had nary an issue outside of plugs. I'll hold on to the 5K OCI.

Joining the fray just to learn. I'm running Motorcraft synthetic because I like synthetic and Motorcraft is what the dealer has. And, I have been changing at 5k miles because that's when I took the truck in for something like the A/C seats or harsh shifting TSB's.

My 2012 F150 has 90,000+ issue free miles on it. I changed the oil whenever the iOLM was 20% or less. That was generally around 7,000 to 7,500 miles. I'm thinking of doing the same with my 2016.
I always have the works done at my local dealer. They recommend 5,000 miles or 7,500 miles depending on your driving situation. I used to use Mobile 1 a long time ago. At some point I just started thinking it wasn't worth the money & hassle. I can get the works done at Ford for less money than just buying Mobile 1 oil & filter.

Mine was built _ON_ 5/29/2015. :-X03 Oh jeez. :-X03

No revised parts for you! Goes on engine build date, not truck, and your engine was probably made a week or two earlier.

Is there some convenient place for me to see my engine build date?

What are the revised parts? I wonder if time plays a factor in engine oil problems. I put about 35,000 miles / year on my 2012 so it was always getting fresh oil. I don't use my current truck anywhere near what I did with my previous trucks so this one will sit a lot. I'll be surprised if I put more than 10,000 miles / year on it. At my current usage I'll be at 8,400 miles / year.

Check out the link above from Tom. The parts are listed in the TSB.