Oil changes (3.5L EcoBoost) - first change and subsequent intervals?

[Buyer2021]

Everyone has an oil / filter / change interval scheme that makes them happy, and that's cool, IMO.

One true anecdote just FWIW .... I've a friend who has been through 6 company F150s with the 3.5EB. He puts lots of miles on 'em in a hurry, mostly highway with 1500# of cast-iron salesman's samples in the covered bed, the company replaces 'em at ~250~300k miles. All of those trucks have gotten dealer oil changes with the OE Motorcraft fluids and filters per Maintenance Minder intervals. He loves 'em, has never had a hint of oil-related problems, they're all still running great when the company flips 'em.

For myself, the 'scheme' that makes me happy is initial change at ~3-4k miles, then 90% on the Maintenance Minder thereafter. I use the spec Motorcraft filter but with the full synthetic Mobil 1 that makes explicit reference to meeting the applicable Ford oil spec WSS-M2C961-A1 applicable to my engine.

Mobil 1 simply because they make explicit reference to applicable Ford oil specs for their products, it's readily available in big jugs at a decent price at my local WalMart, and Mobil has historically run frequent cash-back rebates easily submitted online.

YMMV, no worries!

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[thudnblunder]

I did mine first on arrival home from the dealer. Why? To get rid of manufacturing residue. No matter how hard Ford (or other makers) try, there will be some residual "stuff" inside the engine, so I do this as a means of cleaning out the engine. Then I began at 3,000 miles. I put a special filter on the engine from Canton Racing Products that filters down to 8 microns. The best a typical filter does is on the order of 40 microns. I am now doing oil analysis with Blackstone Laboratories. They have progressively recomended intervals that are now at 10,000 based on the analysis results.

Wouldn't the filter catch those anyway?

 

[Gros Ventre]

Wouldn't the filter catch those anyway?

Well, the installed filter on delivery is, at best, about 30-40 micron particles. So, as I see it dumping the initial fill gets that manufacturing "stuff" out of the engine. Don't interpret this to mean Ford doesn't do things to minimize that manufacturing stuff, but, short of repeated drains & fills, they won't be able to get all of it out. If your goal is to get your truck to a trade-in... you don't need to do this. On the other hand if you'd like to keep your truck well beyond a trade-in, you can do some things to prolong its life.

 

[DT444T]

Everyone has an oil / filter / change interval scheme that makes them happy, and that's cool, IMO.

One true anecdote just FWIW .... I've a friend who has been through 6 company F150s with the 3.5EB. He puts lots of miles on 'em in a hurry, mostly highway with 1500# of cast-iron salesman's samples in the covered bed, the company replaces 'em at ~250~300k miles. All of those trucks have gotten dealer oil changes with the OE Motorcraft fluids and filters per Maintenance Minder intervals. He loves 'em, has never had a hint of oil-related problems, they're all still running great when the company flips 'em.

For myself, the 'scheme' that makes me happy is initial change at ~3-4k miles, then 90% on the Maintenance Minder thereafter. I use the spec Motorcraft filter but with the full synthetic Mobil 1 that makes explicit reference to meeting the applicable Ford oil spec WSS-M2C961-A1 applicable to my engine.

Mobil 1 simply because they make explicit reference to applicable Ford oil specs for their products, it's readily available in big jugs at a decent price at my local WalMart, and Mobil has historically run frequent cash-back rebates easily submitted online.

YMMV, no worries!

It's almost like the guys who designed it know how to maintain it.

 

[Gros Ventre]

It's almost like the guys who designed it know how to maintain it.

Right... and their goal is to get it to a trade in... For those few that want to get it to a longer life... there are some things you can do to get there...

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