The 7500 that Ford states is probably for perfect driving conditions more than likely almost all highway miles, no towing, and very little idle time. It's probably a safe bet that most drivers do not meet this.

Like I said before I change mine at about 4k miles which is what the UOA from Blackstone says I'm safe at for my F150. I use the same oil and filters for my wife's Honda Accord and change it around 6k miles this again is going by UOA's. Both vehicles are subjected to the same driving style but the Honda's engine "runs" more clean than the F150.

If you want to push your OCI's to the max please do a used oil analysis, it's pretty cheap and will let you know for sure you are treating your motor right.

Check out bobistheoilguy.com. There's tons of great info on that site on oil types and OCI's

I'm sure oil company's don't mind selling oil and filters to people that change oil too early and I'm sure Ford doesn't mind replacing engines after the warranty is up due to people running the oil too long. I mean face it Ford's powertrain warranty is 60k miles and I bet these engines would still be running at the end of the warranty with only 3 to 4 oil changes. But how much longer will they still be running after the warranty? I'm not implying that Ford is out to get people but every car company has screwed a customer.

 

Amsoil is a great product....I use it in my trans am.

As far as driving on dirty roads such as gravel or dirt. No matter the type of air filter there is always some dirt that gets through it and makes it's way into the motor which intern contaminates the oil faster.

 

You do how you like and I'll do mine. Don't blast me for it though.

My daily driver Mazda had over 220,000 miles. Not easy miles either. Never had any engine work done and I'd like to keep it that way and if changing my oil every 3 months or 3 miles helps my mind then I'll do it.

 

Change your oil at the interval you feel most comfortable with so you can get the most life out of your truck. Its not only the oil but the use of a good quality filter also. In the past i changed my oil at 4 thousand miles. It was mostly highway miles with some light hauling. I change oil on my wifes car at 3 thousand miles because it is alot of in town stop and go driving and some gravel driving. I have yet to change oil on my 09 F150 but will stick to the same mileage as in the past because that is what works for me. Don't care what the manual says. I worked in a shop for fourteen years and saw some scary things when it comes to not changing oil often enough.

 

My manual says 7500 miles under "normal" driving conditions and more frequently under "dusty" conditions or a lot of off-road driving.

 

To the OP. I would change the oil before the trip.

 

I'm sorry dude, but that statement makes no sense to me whatsoever. Why would FORD publish a recommended OCI based upon a best case (unrealistic) scenario with no factor of safety? All highway miles and now towing? I'm pretty sure FORD knows their truck market and why would they bombard us with towing capacity and towing toughness marketing only to turn around and assume no towing when determining the recommended OCI. I think it's much more likely that FORD takes real data from their market and uses the average driving conditions, styles, and towing requirements to come up with an AVERAGE OCI, then apply a factor of safety.

The idea that FORD wants you to "push the limit" regarding OCI is asinine. Their future success with trucks is built upon a foundation of tough, long-lasting trucks. If they "wanted" to make people replace engines prematurely, it wouldn't take long for their reputation to go to hell and they'd lose significant market share. Plus, if that were the case, why would they use synthetic blend oil which is made to last longer and perform better?

Sorry for the rant, but c'mon folks, this isn't rocket surgery

(again, I have absolutely no problem with anyone changing their oil at 3k or less even, just don't try to argue that it's a bad idea to go 7k+ miles b/t oil changes; b/c there is overwhelming evidence to the contrary.)

 

I will agree some what. My wifes Toyota dirty oil does not look the same as my dirty oil from my F150... Toyota runs Castrol 5W30, f150 runs Mortorcraft 5W20.

 

I would say in severe driving conditions i.e. hard towing, stop & go driving, dusty roads...the oil additives such as foam and corrosion inhibitors will break down sooner, filter can collect more dust sooner thus run the risk of clogging and bypassing dirty oil back through the engine. Also fuel contamination in oil over prolonged periods softens babbitt in bearings and can cause failure of the bearings and increased wear.

I have a mechanic that I trust with my life and have had for over 20 years. He has never screwed me, taken advantage of me. He has a ton of experience in seeing all types of failures and things that we will never see or understand. I totally trust what he says. He calls for 3-4 K changes with conventional oils and a little longer with synthetics.

The oil analysis thing is interesting. I hear now that big high dollar air compressors in manufacturing plants are serviced according to oil & vibration analysis now. They claim they can tell when to change the pump oil and what parts to replace by these methods thus saving money, down time AND reduced parts replacement just because you THINK it needs replaced OR a manual SAYS to replace it.

 

wow tough crowd in the 09 forum.

All I'm saying is do a UOA. Ford also recommends 5k changes for my truck UNDER NORMAL CONDITIONS but from doing the UOA's that would be unsafe for me. About 25% of my driving is highway and I do not tow anything or drive in dusty conditions. So according to FORD I would fall into the NORMAL conditions. My point is that Ford's NORMAL may not be everyone's NORMAL. Heck Ford's guideline is about as vague as it can be.

I'm just trying to help people make an informed decision. Sometimes like in my case I should be in the normal OCI according to Ford but according to cold hard data from UOA's going to Ford's recommended mileage is not safe for me. Is it possible that my 5.4 is different from the others and dirties the oil faster....who knows?

IMO spending $20 or so on a UOA is a small price to pay to find out who often to change your oil and not just relying on the Ford engineers (which might be the same ones who designed the **** poor plug design that breaks off in the 04-07's).

As you said this is not rocket science if done wrong your engine probably won't blow up but runs the risk of replacing bearings and such earlier than it should be needed.

 

I read what the manual actually says about Normal vs. Severe duty. All the things mentioned are indicators for severe duty...except that the manual uses the work "primarily." So while I live on a dirt road, I only drive on it 1/4 mile out and back in, then dozens of miles on normal roads. And while I tow an camper, I've done so only a few hundred of 3900 miles. Hardly "primarily."

But also, they say 6 months. Since my truck was built in December, I should probably change it I guess. Actually I should have had the dealer do it when I got it since its calendar life was already half up when I took delivery.

Doing the UOA would be an interesting exercise. I've heard of fleet managers doing this and really stretching out oil change intervals WAY longer than recommended because they found there was simply no reason to change the oil.

 

OCI does depend on use of truck. Excessive idling, towing and dusty conditions cause shorter OCI than 'normal'.

For your reference, here's Ford's maintenance requirements. Make your selections and your driving condition to have the maintenance schedule appear.
https://www.fleet.ford.com/maintenan...les/Getymm.asp

 

You had me worried when I went ahead and did mine today. I put the filter wrench on (I use the strap kind) and prepared to do battle and...it came right off. Your's must have been a lot tighter and it surely didn't take enough force to break anything.

You are probably right about the lack of lube on the seal. I spent a lot of time in a Ford engine plant back in the late 90's working as a contractor and I don't remember seeing the oil filter installation machine doing anything to the filter before installation. Different engine and plant, but I bet a similar process.

That little drip cup under the filter is pretty slick. Way better than Fords of yesteryear--like our 99 Taurus that ran right onto the exhaust pipe. No matter how much you wiped it, it still smelled of burning oil for the first couple trips. Of course on the 07 Focus they didn't put anything at all under the oil filter so there's nothing but your hands to wipe down after removal.

 

These threads crack me up. I change mine once a week or every 500 miles because I love my truck so much.

 

If some of you guys don't agree with the new scheduled oil change intervals then why not just follow the special conditions intervals? Thats what ford recommends for us up here in Canada due to our colder winters. I'd even follow it if i lived in a warm climate also since I use my truck off the beaten path and to tow/haul stuff. With that being said, these intervals are recommendations, if your oil looks dirty earlier, change it!