Oil Change Frequency

[Randy Reynolds]

How often does everybody change their oil? I know the owner's manual recommends every 5,000 miles. All my life, I have faithfully changed the oil in my vehicles every 3,000 miles. i am now driving 80 miles per day to work and back, and 3,000 is rolling around way to soon--costing time and money. Any thoughts? I am looking at putting way over 100,000 miles on this truck over the next few years. Any high-mileage Tracs out there with no problems?

 

[Thomas Rogers]

You should be able to go to 5K mile intervals given you are higher mileage and its mostly highway.



And, since you have a 2004 ST, you really shouldn't be burning any oil, but its still not a bad idea to check the oil level and viscosity/cleanliness periodically between the 3K and 5K period.



TJR

 

[Dre L]

I do it every 3K.



Look at your oil at 3K, if it's black or smells burnt, change it every 3K. if not, go for 3 month intervals, or the manual's 5K.



If you're under warranty, change it according to the requirement, or risk voiding your warranty.



I always understood it as 7500 is okay, but zealots do it at 3K. I firmly believe that lubricants should be changed / re-applied religiously for optimal performance and life on mechanical parts. For 30 minutes and $25, I'll stick to my 3K mile oil and filter changes.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Noble, I am pretty sure the 2004 Owner's Manual lists 5K miles as the recommended interval. I do 3K for my 2004 because I drive short distances to work, and 3K miles is about once every 3+ months...and I don't want the oil to get that old and start to breakdown.



TJR

 

[TrainTrac]

I do it every 5K with Mobil 1 Synthetic.

 

[Hal S]

I use Motorcraft 5w20 and change it every 3k.

I do the same with my old windstar (but with 5w30), and it has 120k. Recently I had a valve cover off to replace the gasket and it looks clean enough to eat off of in there.

 

[Fer Echegaray]

Every 5k miles on PennzOil synthetic

 

[EddieS'04]

I have used syn. blend in all my cars for over 12yrs. I do a 5k oil and filter...never had any failures...

 

[Ryan Y]

every 5k with mobil 1 synthetic 5w30 and motorcraft filter....

 

[Travis Munday]

Between 5k and 7500 miles, or about 1.5 times a year., 2.5 times if I'm lucky.

 

[David Torres]

I just split the difference and change it every 4K miles.

 

[Cory Richards]

I have been changing my oil and filter every 3,000 miles. Last time I used Castrol GTX and a Motorcraft filter. In my most recent change (about a week and a half ago) I used Castrol Syntec Blend and a Purolator PureOne filter. I am planning on changing that after 4,000 miles. I'm toying with the idea of switching to Mobil 1 Synthetic and a K&N filter and going 5,000 between changes.

 

[Todd Z]

The way I drive.... Full synthetic every 3,000 miles.

Todd Z

 

[Ryan Y]

Just a question, but are different engines just dirtier than others?? Case in point: I bought my truck new, and changed the oil at 2,500 miles and the oil was black. Whether I change it at 3,000 or 5,000 with synthetic it's black. On my wife's 2003 Toyota Rav 4, I change it every 3,000 miles with regular castrol 5/30 and every time I drain the old oil it looks new. It's clean and golden EVERY time. I'm not worried about my truck's used oil being black, that's normal. But I worked at a Gemini Goodyear for a couple years changing oil, doing flushes, etc...and I don't remember changing oil and it being as clean as the toyota's used oil. Hmmm.... makes me happy every time I change it though....

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Thanks Ryan Y...Yet another emperical story that leads one to believe that a Japanese import is better engineered than a domestic vehicle.

 

[Ryan Y]

sorry... I'm trying REALLY hard to hate toyota and love Ford. But the wife's fam always buys nothing but toyotas and never have any issues... I just know in my heart of hearts Americans are VERY capable of making the best quality products... and in most cases do, but sometimes I wonder.



Anyway, I was NOT trying to down american made vehicles nor start a war!! forgive me!!

 

[Ryan Y]

or could it be the oil?? should I run regular castrol 5/30 in my truck?? maybe I'll try that next time....hmmm....

 

[Thomas Rogers]

You should run the weight of oil in your truck recommended by the owner's manual.

 

[Ryan Y]

I do run the correct weight, which is 5/30. The question was between regular Castrol or Mobil 1 Sythetic....

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Question, Ryan, wouldn't and shouldn't the owner's manual recommend a synthetic oil if it has value, increases the life of the vehicle, etc (play devil's advocate here)?